Aug 2026· Systems· Vol 14, pp. 933· 0 citations· 43 references
TL;DR
A theoretical framework that positions AI capability (AIC) as a key antecedent in the nomological network of business model innovation (BMI) is proposed and empirically tests, and DOC is introduced as an internal boundary condition for AIC, complementing prior research on external environmental moderators.
Abstract
Despite substantial AI technology investment, many firms fail to translate isolated AI applications into integrated capabilities that deliver strategic returns and drive business model changes. Grounded in service-dominant logic (SDL), this study proposes and empirically tests a theoretical framework that positions AI capability (AIC) as a key antecedent in the nomological network of business model innovation (BMI). Drawing on a three-wave, two-week-interval longitudinal survey of 193 Chinese digital-intensive firms across IT, technical services, and digital leasing industries, and employing PLS-SEM, we examine associations among focal constructs, specifically, the mediating role of customer responsiveness (CR) and the moderating effect of digital organizational culture (DOC). This design mitigates common method bias and establishes temporal causal ordering. Empirical results indicate that AIC positively relates to BMI both directly and indirectly through CR, and that DOC significantly enhances the indirect effect of AIC on BMI via CR, particularly under high levels of AI-enabled sensing and interpretation. However, causal inference is limited by the cross-sectional nature of the data and self-reported measures. This study makes three key theoretical contributions. First, we identify CR as a market-oriented mechanism linking AIC to BMI, shifting focus from prior internal efficiency-focused mechanisms to customer-centric value co-creation. Second, we extend SDL to the AI context by clarifying how DOC shapes the strategic transformation of ambiguous probabilistic AI outputs into market-oriented actions. Third, we introduce DOC as an internal boundary condition for AIC, complementing prior research on external environmental moderators. These findings provide actionable guidance for managers seeking to unlock the strategic value of AI investments. Findings reflect statistical associations rather than confirmed causal effects, and results are based on perceptual survey data from Chinese digital firms.
This study investigates the mechanisms through which Big Data Analytic Capability (BDAC) translates into Business Model Innovation (BMI) in the auditing profession, specifically examining serial mediation pathways and the moderating role of Digital Leadership. Drawing on the Dynamic Capabilities View and Open Innovation theory, empirical data collected from 301 managers across auditing firms in Vietnam were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The results reveal that BDAC fosters BMI through a complex serial mediation involving Absorptive Capacity (ACAP), Inbound Open Innovation, and Value Co-creation. Furthermore, Digital Leadership significantly amplifies BDAC's impact on organizational learning. Notably, while organizational scale (Big 4 vs. Non-Big 4) influences the final BMI outcome, it does not determine ACAP, indicating that the fundamental ability to assimilate digital knowledge is scale-independent. This research provides a novel contribution by demonstrating that data-driven capabilities act as an "equalizer", allowing smaller firms to compete on "intellectual scale" rather than "organizational scale". Ultimately, it offers a strategic roadmap for professional service firms to successfully transition from traditional assurance to data-driven advisory.
This study demonstrates the joint influencing mechanism of organizational and individual factors, providing empirical evidence to engage with the micro-foundations debates within the theoretical framework of dynamic capabilities.
Luoxi Pu, R. Radics, Muhammad Umar et al.· International Journal of Eme...· 0 citations
This study develops and validates an artificial intelligence (AI) maturity construct grounded in dynamic capabilities theory and resolves a theoretical misspecification in prior maturity models by treating dynamic capabilities theory as the primary mechanism and employing a separately measured reflective AI maturity construct.
Kwangwook Gang, Boreum Choi, G. Kim· Journal of Enterprise Inform...· 0 citations
This study aims to examine how innovation-oriented management practices are associated with disruptive innovation (DI) outcomes in the financial services sector. It investigates how innovative work practices (IWP), dynamic capabilities (DC), innovation culture (IC) and transformational leadership (TL) jointly operate within a contingency framework to shape DI in regulated service environments.
A quantitative design using survey data from 396 managers in Pakistan’s banking industry was used. Partial least squares structural equation modeling tested a moderated mediation model grounded in contingency theory, examining the direct and indirect effects of IWP on DI through DC and IC, with TL as a moderating variable.
Results demonstrate that IWP positively affects DI, with DC and IC partially mediating this effect. TL significantly strengthens the IWP–DI link and indirectly enhances DI via DC. The findings suggest that disruptive outcomes in regulated service contexts depend on the alignment between innovation-oriented work practices, adaptive capability development and supportive leadership conditions.
This study focuses on a single-country, cross-sectional banking context. Future research should adopt longitudinal and multisectoral approaches to validate and generalize these mechanisms.
Managers should emphasize IWP to stimulate DI and cultivate environments that support DC, IC and TL. The findings offer actionable insights for leaders navigating disruption in financial organizations. Innovation practices alone may be insufficient unless supported by enabling organizational contingencies.
Grounded in contingency theory, this study advances prior research by specifying a process-oriented moderated mediation model in which IWP functions as an innovation stimulus, DC and IC operate as parallel conversion mechanisms and TL acts as a contextual boundary condition shaping DI within an emerging-market, regulated banking context.
Shoaib Raza, A. Khan, Aamir Hayat et al.· Journal of Science and Techn...· 0 citations
Despite the growing importance of artificial intelligence in business contexts, empirical research on how firms transform digital orientation into AI capability remains limited, particularly when many firms invest in digital and AI initiatives but fail to develop a coherent capability base. Based on the attention based view, this study proposes a framework with mediation and moderation to explain the direct and indirect effects of digital orientation on AI capability, mediated by organizational learning and organizational forgetting, and moderated by the level of AI trust within the firm. We carried out a quantitative study using survey data collected in 2025 from 306 Chinese firms across different industries, ownership types and firm sizes. We applied structural equation modelling, bootstrap procedures and fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis to examine the variable relationships and configurational paths that explain AI capability formation. The results show that digital orientation is positively associated with AI capability through organizational learning and organizational forgetting. Furthermore, we provide evidence that AI trust strengthens the association between digital orientation and these two knowledge processes, which is consistent with a stronger conversion of digital strategic attention into AI capability. The configurational analysis further reveals two routes to high AI capability, namely a trust based forgetting route and a mature firm learning route. These findings clarify the knowledge mechanism through which digital orientation becomes AI capability and highlight the joint importance of learning, forgetting and trust.
Digital technology adoption does not necessarily lead to immediate improvements in the financial performance of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). Its benefits become evident only when business owners are able to align technological opportunities with customer knowledge and translate them into relevant and economically viable business models. This study examines the effects of digital leadership and customer orientation on the relative financial performance of digitally active MSMEs in Kendari City. Business model innovation is positioned as a mediating variable, while technological turbulence is examined as a moderating variable. Data were collected through a survey of 392 owners or managers, each representing one MSME, and analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). The findings show that customer orientation is the strongest driver of business model innovation and influences performance both directly and indirectly through business model innovation. Digital leadership also promotes business model innovation, but its effect on performance occurs only through this mechanism. Business model innovation significantly enhances relative financial performance, whereas technological turbulence has neither a direct effect nor a moderating effect. This research contributes to building a customer-anchored capability-conversion model in which customer orientation functions as a market-sensing capability, digital leadership serves as a managerial enabler, and business model innovation acts as the mechanism that converts these capabilities into financial outcomes.
