GAI and sustainability auditing in firms: a reading through the lens of dynamic capabilities theory

IAG et audit durabilité dans les cabinets: lecture par la théorie des capacités dynamiques

Julie Demaret (), Gautier Gond, Mamadou Ndione () and Laetitia Legalais
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Julie Demaret: UP1 EMS - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - École de Management de la Sorbonne - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, PRISM Sorbonne - Pôle de recherche interdisciplinaire en sciences du management - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, VALLOREM - Val de Loire Recherche en Management - UO - Université d'Orléans - UT - Université de Tours
Gautier Gond: VALLOREM - Val de Loire Recherche en Management - UO - Université d'Orléans - UT - Université de Tours
Mamadou Ndione: VALLOREM - Val de Loire Recherche en Management - UO - Université d'Orléans - UT - Université de Tours
Laetitia Legalais: PRISM Sorbonne - Pôle de recherche interdisciplinaire en sciences du management - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne

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Abstract: This article examines the integration of generative artificial intelligence (GAI) into sustainability audit processes within legal audit firms. In this context, we have mobilized dynamic capabilities theory (Teece, 2007) and conducted fourteen semi-structured interviews, preceded by non-participant observations. Two main findings are highlighted. First, firms use GAI as a strategic lever that allows them to save time and strengthen their competitive advantage in the face of emerging new players in the sustainability certification market (lawyers, consulting firms, etc.). We also show that the reconfiguration of skills within legal audit firms constitutes a manifestation of the firms' dynamic capabilities in response to these changes. We observe a shift in the profiling of positions traditionally held by accountants, in favor of data specialists and their oversight. This is accompanied by a dynamic of integration marked by a form of coopetition (Nalebuff and Brandenburger, 1996), which is reflected in the incorporation of new profiles within audit teams. In this context, GAI enables auditors to engage in the process of acculturation to sustainability while maintaining their independence from other actors, all while preserving their expertise.

Keywords: audit de durabilité; cabinets d’audit légal; capacités dynamiques; données extra-financières; IAG (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025-05-27
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Published in Management & sciences sociales, 2025, n° 41 (2), pp.46-65. ⟨10.3917/mss.041.0046⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05125208

DOI: 10.3917/mss.041.0046

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