Aug 2026· Benchmarking : An International Journal· 0 citations· 90 references
Abstract
This study examines how AI adoption enablers influence AI-driven innovation, competitiveness and multidimensional firm performance among micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).
Data were collected from 268 Malaysian MSMEs and analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling. A disjoint two-stage approach was used to model firm performance as a higher-order construct comprising technological, economic and sustainability performance. Necessary condition analysis (NCA) and importance-performance map analysis were also applied to identify performance bottlenecks and managerial priorities.
The results show that environmental conditions and technological readiness are positively and significantly associated with AI adoption, whereas organisational support does not operate as a sufficient adoption driver. However, AI adoption is strongly associated with AI-driven innovation, which in turn strengthens competitiveness and improves firm performance. The NCA further shows that high firm performance requires minimum threshold levels of technological readiness, environmental conditions, organisational support, AI adoption, AI-driven innovation and competitiveness.
Managers should not treat AI adoption as a symbolic digital upgrade. Performance gains depend on converting AI into process, product/service and business model innovation, and then into competitiveness. Policymakers should move beyond isolated AI grants towards coordinated support systems that combine infrastructure, skills development, advisory services, innovation financing and ecosystem confidence.
The study develops the Technology–Environment–Capability for AI Performance (TEC-AIP) Framework, integrating sufficiency and necessity logics to explain AI-enabled MSME performance in an emerging economy.
This study aims to analyze the influence of Innovation Capability, Market Orientation, and Resource Capability on Competitive Advantage with Firm Performance as a mediating variable among batik Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Tangerang Regency. A quantitative approach was employed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) through SmartPLS 4.0. A purposive sample of 147 respondents was obtained from a registered population of 247 active batik MSME units as of January 2026. Results reveal that all three antecedent constructs exert significant positive influences on both Firm Performance and Competitive Advantage, with Resource Capability emerging as the strongest predictor. Firm Performance is confirmed as a significant partial mediator in all three indirect pathways from Innovation Capability, Market Orientation, and Resource Capability to Competitive Advantage. These findings provide actionable strategic insights for batik MSME owners, policymakers, and development agencies seeking to strengthen sectoral competitiveness sustainably
Maman Sulaeman, Diksi Metris, Ahmad Rasyiddin et al.· Agregat Jurnal Ekonomi dan B...· 0 citations
This study investigates the relationship between innovation adoption and organizational growth among Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Imo State, Nigeria. Innovation adoption, encompassing product, process, and technological innovations, is widely recognized as a key driver of firm performance and competitiveness. Using a quantitative research design, data were collected from 334 SMEs through structured questionnaires, with 320 valid responses analyzed. Descriptive statistics revealed moderate to high adoption of innovations, with product innovation being the most prevalent. Correlation and multiple regression analyses indicated that all three types of innovation significantly predict organizational growth, with product innovation having the strongest impact. Key challenges to innovation adoption included financial constraints, infrastructural deficits, limited managerial competence, and resistance to change. The study concludes that strategic adoption of innovations is crucial for SMEs’ growth and recommends that SMEs prioritize product and process innovations, adopt appropriate technologies, and build managerial capacity. Policymakers are encouraged to improve access to finance, infrastructure, and technical support to foster SME innovation and growth.
Onwuegbule, Obiageri Felicitas, Anukam Chidozirim Stephen, Odunna, Chuks Evans. et al.· International journal of res...· 0 citations
Micro, small, and medium enterprises operating within free trade zones face intensifying competitive pressures that demand both strategic clarity and technological readiness to sustain business performance. Despite growing scholarly attention to strategy and technology as performance drivers, their simultaneous examination within a mediated structural model remains limited in open industrial zone contexts. This study investigates the influence of business strategy and technological capability on MSME business performance in Batam City, Indonesia, with competitive advantage as a mediating variable. A quantitative explanatory design was employed, with data collected from 350 MSME respondents through a structured Likert-scale questionnaire and analyzed via Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling using SmartPLS 4.1. All seven hypotheses were supported. Both constructs significantly and positively affect competitive advantage and business performance, with technological capability producing the strongest path coefficient in the model, particularly toward competitive advantage. Competitive advantage partially mediates both the strategy-performance and technology-performance relationships. The findings extend the Resource-Based View and Dynamic Capabilities Theory to the MSME free trade zone setting and offer guidance for practitioners and policymakers seeking to support technology-driven competitive development.
King Abdul Aziz, S. Triono· Journal of Entrepreneurship· 0 citations
This study investigates how AI adoption enhances organizational innovation capability and, in turn, improves economic, environmental, and social dimensions of business performance, and links digital transformation with sustainability outcomes.
S. P, Sriharan M, S. P et al.· International Journal for Re...· 0 citations
While enterprise artificial intelligence (AI) adoption is crucial for high-quality economic development, many companies have yet to adopt AI in practice. Enterprise quality management (QM), serving as an internalized foundation of standardized processes and data governance, may critically enable AI adoption, yet this relationship remains underexplored. Utilizing panel data from Chinese A-share listed companies (2007–2023), we employ a fixed-effects regression model, supplemented by a series of methods to address endogeneity, including the instrumental variables approach, difference-in-differences, and event studies. Results indicate that QM significantly promotes enterprise AI adoption, which further enhances enterprise performance. This positive effect of QM on AI adoption is amplified by high innovation sustainability and chief executive officers (CEOs) with IT backgrounds, and is particularly pronounced in large, non-state-owned firms within highly competitive industries and the eastern regions of China. Theoretically, this study extends the literature on the antecedents of AI adoption by identifying enterprise QM as a crucial, yet overlooked, internal driver. Practically, aligning AI integration with established quality frameworks, cultivating leadership with IT expertise, and fostering a supportive environment provide a viable pathway to overcome AI adoption barriers.
The findings show that exploitative capability enhances both innovation capability and competitive advantage, while exploratory capability directly improves competitive advantage but does not significantly affect innovation capability.
L. Nguyen, Huong Thi Đinh, V. Tran et al.· International Journal of Asi...· 0 citations