How "AI+" Drives the Innovative Development of Sports EnterprisesAn Empirical Research from the Perspective of Innovation Dynamic Capability Theory

Against the backdrop of the deepening implementation of the national strategies of "AI+" and building China into a "leading sports nation", how artificial intelligence drives innovation and high-quality development in the sports industry has increasingly become a focal issue for both industry and academia. Based on innovation dynamic capability theory, this paper constructs an analytical framework, taking Chinese listed sports enterprises from 2015 to 2024 as the research sample. Using PPML and Tobit models, it systematically examines the impact of artificial intelligence technology investment on the innovation performance of sports enterprises and explores its underlying theoretical mechanisms. The results show that the investment in artificial intelligence technology can significantly enhance the innovation performance of sports enterprises, and this conclusion remains robust after multiple robustness tests. The mechanism proves that the investment improves innovation performance through three mechanism paths of strengthening the innovation in opportunity sensing capability, opportunity recognition capability and resource reconfiguration capability. The heterogeneity analysis believes that the innovation-driven effect of artificial intelligence technology investment is more significant in private, manufacturing-oriented, small and medium-sized, and technology-intensive sports enterprises, and is more pronounced in enterprises with lower financing constraints and stronger technological foundations. The extended analysis shows that this investment has a stronger effect on exploitative innovation than on exploratory innovation. At the same time, it can effectively enhance the sustainability of innovation in sports enterprises.