Artificial Intelligence Adoption and Business Performance among Informal Youth Entrepreneurs in Zambia
Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Informal enterprises absorb most youth employment in Sub-Saharan Africa, yet it remains unclear whether artificial intelligence (AI) improves their performance or widens the digital divide. This study extends the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) by linking perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEOU) to AI adoption and to financial (FP), marketing (MP) and operational (OP) performance among informal youth entrepreneurs in Zambia. Survey data from owner-operators aged 18–35 were analysed with confirmatory factor analysis and covariance-based structural equation modelling, using a cluster bootstrap because the data file contained paired, near-identical records. PEOU, but not PU, predicted AI adoption. AI adoption was positively associated with all three performance dimensions, most strongly with operational performance. PEOU had significant indirect effects on performance through AI adoption; however, when we added direct paths from PEOU to performance, these indirect effects were no longer significant, and PEOU was directly associated with marketing and operational performance. Measurement quality was modest, particularly for the AI adoption scale, and model fit was below conventional benchmarks, so the findings should be read as exploratory. In informal, resource-constrained settings, usability, rather than perceived usefulness, appears to be the gateway to AI adoption, and AI's performance benefits are associated with how easily entrepreneurs can use it.
Authors: Clement Mwaanga, Edwin Moyo
Institution: Mulungushi University
Subfield: Information Systems and Management
Field: Decision Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7223097161
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