AI Adoption and Dynamic Capabilities in Chinese SMEs: the Mediating Role of Digital Entrepreneurial Orientation—A Conceptual Framework
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: This paper develops a conceptual framework that examines how artificial intelligence (AI) adoption may influence dynamic capabilities in Chinese small and mediumsized enterprises (SMEs), with digital entrepreneurial orientation (DEO) as a proposed mediating mechanism. Drawing on dynamic capabilities theory and the digital entrepreneurship literature, the paper argues that AI adoption does not automatically translate into dynamic capabilities. Rather, AI adoption may foster DEO—comprising digital innovativeness, digital proactiveness, and digital risktaking—which in turn may help firms sense opportunities, seize them, and reconfigure resources. Three testable propositions are developed. The framework contributes to dynamic capabilities theory by specifying DEO as a strategic mediating pathway through which AI resources may be converted into organizational capabilities. It also offers implications for SME managers and policymakers seeking to support digital transformation under resource constraints.
Author: Depeng Pan
Institution: Minsk Institute of Management
Language: English
Subfield: Strategy and Management
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W7222009036
FWCI:
Cites:
Cited by:
Related to: