Exploring the nexus between artificial intelligence capability, multidimensional intellectual capital, and organizational agility of SMEs

Artificial intelligence (AI) represents a disruptive technology that is affecting the dynamics of many businesses in ways that will determine their future trajectories and potential ability to navigate uncertain environments. Recent studies have proposed the concept of AI capability (AIC) to capture the strategic ability of firms to integrate and leverage AI in their organizational structures. The emerging literature on AICs is still in its infancy, thus calling for more studies to shed light on their effects on firms and their resources or abilities. This study explores the impact of AICs on the individual dimensions of SMEs’ intellectual capital (IC), considering the recent and more comprehensive multidimensional IC construct composed of six dimensions (human, relational, structural, renewal, trust, and entrepreneurial capital) and how these latter influence firms’ organizational agility (OA). We adopted a quantitative approach based on PLS-SEM and tested the proposed research model on 376 SMEs in Europe. The findings highlight that AICs positively influence the dimensions of IC and that these, expect for trust capital, enhance SMEs’ OA. AICs thus represent relevant opportunities for SMEs to improve their IC, which in turn makes a crucial contribution to their OA. These findings suggest that firms should develop and nurture AICs to harness the potential of AI tools and gain long-term strategic benefits for their IC assets and agility.