Research on the impact of AI technology adoption on organizational resilience of service enterprises

• Main Author: DENG, Jianlin
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2024
• Subjects: Accounting; Technology and Innovation
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/etd_coll/555; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/etd_coll/article/1553/viewcontent/GPBF_AY2023_PhD_Jianlin_Deng.pdf
• Institution: Singapore Management University

In a time of frequent global economic fluctuations, understanding how service enterprises can sustain stability amid fluctuating environments, and even thrive during crises, has become a significant research focus within the current economic context. Advancements in the digital economy provide service enterprises with new digital technology support, leading to their reduced operational costs and heightened efficiency. Among them, artificial intelligence (AI) technology is highly praised by service enterprises. AI technology is extensively integrated into service enterprises’ daily operations and management decision-making. However, limited research has been conducted on how AI technology can assist these enterprises in navigating external environmental disruptions. In response to management needs and bridge gaps in existing literature, this study focuses on “the influence of AI technology adoption on the organizational resilience of service enterprises.” Drawing insights from the literature review and deduction, this study assumed that AI technology adoption influences the organizational resilience of service enterprises and then performed an empirical analysis utilizing data from publicly listed service enterprises from 2010 to 2020. The results suggested that (1) AI technology adoption positively impacts the organizational resilience of service enterprises significantly; (2) AI technology adoption contributes significantly to enhancing both high liquidity and low-liquidity slack resources within service enterprises; (3) AI technology adoption positively influences the organizational resilience of service enterprises through high-liquidity slack, which acts as a mediator; (4) The diversification strategy and scale of service enterprises play a negative role in adjusting the impact of AI technology adoption on high-liquidity slack resources. The empirical evidence confirms that AI technology adoption has a positive impact on the organizational resilience of service enterprises. This study chose five typical service enterprises for case studies to delve deeper into the impact mechanism of AI technology adoption on the organizational resilience of service enterprises. It was observed that the response of the sample enterprises to the impact of COVID-19 unfolded across three stages, at each stage, AI technology adoption has played distinct roles in shaping organizational resilience. Specifically, it bolstered enterprises’ environmental awareness and information judgment abilities in the pre-impact stage; facilitated algorithm innovation and intelligent decision-making during the impact stage; and assisted enterprises in exploring new paths and capitalizing on fresh entrepreneurial prospects in the post-impact stage. Additionally, the study employed two negative cases to validate the crucial role of AI technology adoption in enhancing the organizational resilience of service enterprises. Sub-study 2 conducted an in-depth comparative analysis. It reveals that service enterprises utilizing AI technology far outperform those that do not in nine fundamental operational capability indicators. This study contributes to existing studies in the following ways: Firstly, it validates the impact mechanism of AI technology adoption on organizational resilience and reveals crucial antecedents of organizational resilience. Secondly, it sheds light on the effects of AI technology adoption on various slack resources within service enterprises and their marginal conditions. Finally, the study establishes a process model illustrating how AI technology adoption assists service enterprises in cultivating organizational resilience.