This study investigates the causal impact of CEO digital vision within smart cities on tourism enterprises’ resilience and digital heritage preservation. Employing a Difference-in-Differences quasi-experimental design, we find that firms led by digitally visionary CEOs in smart cities experience significantly greater increases in revenue stability and faster recovery times, alongside enhanced digital heritage digitization and engagement. Heterogeneity analysis reveals these effects are more pronounced for larger firms. Furthermore, increased investment in digital infrastructure partially mediates this relationship, highlighting a key mechanism. Our findings highlight the critical role of strategic digital leadership in fostering robust and culturally engaged tourism sectors within evolving urban digital ecosystems, offering vital theoretical and practical implications for leaders and policymakers.
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