Innovation Intermediaries, Spillover of Green Innovation, ESG Performance in Deep Tech Startups: Does Generative Artificial Intelligence Matter?

Building on the contemporary debate about the challenges and opportunities surrounding the complex adoption of environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices at the enterprise level, this study tests an original research framework that examines the contributions of generative artificial intelligence. (GEN-AI) by ChatGPT to leverage the influence of innovation intermediaries on ESG performance and spread green innovation. This study sheds light on the context of deep tech startups in Italy, which still faces challenges in advancing the debate on green innovation for a sustainable transition. We argue that Italian deep techs are an interesting experimental sample that deserves a systematic study on the effects of GEN-AI to accelerate ESG performance and generate insights into green innovation spillovers in open innovation environments. Using two questionnaires, data was collected from Artificial Intelligence/ChatGPT and from entrepreneurs from deep tech startups. Our preliminary findings comprise the following results: in open innovation environments, GEN-AI enhances the influence of intermediaries to provide more accurate, reliable, objective, relevant, complete, representative, accessible and value-added information to ESG performance. GEN-AI is relevant in terms of adding value to the information generated by intermediaries. The results of this study enrich the literature on entrepreneurial strategy, showing that GEN-AI expands the ESG logic of deep tech startups and that more inclusive and transparent strategies are needed for the propagation of green innovations.