Social robots in the context of corporate participation in rural revitalization: A binary legitimacy perspective

The Chinese government has successfully lifted a significant number of rural people out of absolute poverty in a short span of time by pooling resources and utilizing unconventional and precise means of support. Consequently, China's rural development objective has shifted from poverty eradication to enrichment, and the key to achieving this is through a combined approach of market-oriented operation and policy support for corporate participation in rural revitalization. This paper analyzes the role of Chinese listed companies' participation in rural revitalization in terms of their ability to navigate the corporate environment based on the dualistic legitimacy theory. The research findings indicate that the primary goal of enterprises' participation in rural revitalization is to gain adaptive and strategic legitimacy by taking social responsibility, with the ultimate aim of achieving sustainable development. Specifically, enterprises enhance their social responsibility performance and financial performance through social participation in rural revitalization, thereby improving their overall sustainability. Finally, our study identifies optimal paths for different types of enterprises to achieve binary legitimacy. This research enriches the understanding of corporate environmental responsiveness via the perspective of binary legitimacy and uncovers the underlying mechanisms driving enterprises' participation in rural revitalization through corporate social responsibility (CSR).