Unpacking firms' AI-related strategies in a regulatory void: early evidence using large-scale survey data from a corporatist economy

초록

Firms attempt to establish AI-related strategies linking to their business portfolio changes to seek AI-related opportunities and avoid AI-related risks in a regulatory void (i.e. weak legal and regulatory frameworks for emerging technologies). However, demand characteristics of interested stakeholders, shaped by national institutional environments, influence AI-related opportunities and risks. This study aims to examine the relationship between firms' AI use and business portfolio changes in corporatist economies - characterised by a strong emphasis on group consensus and collective requirements - a context widely observed in East Asia, such as South Korea. Logistic and inverse probability weighting regression adjustment models were adopted to analyze large-scale survey data. We find a positive association between AI technology use and firms' new business expansion, alongside a negligible relationship with changes to existing business operations. We interpret these findings through the lens of a corporatist institutional environment, where consensus-driven deliberation enables firms to experiment with new business amid the contested demands of diverse external interest groups and collective orientation empowers internal members to mobilise unified internal opposition against AI-driven changes to existing business operations in a regulatory void.

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