Catherine Beaudry, Full Professor at Polytechnique Montréal and Fellow CIRANO and Amir Taherizadeh, Faculty Lecturer at McGill University, published in the review Industry and Innovation.

In the article entitled An emergent grounded theory of AI-driven digital transformation: Canadian SMEs’ perspectives, the authors identify the key dimensions of AI-driven digital transformation (AIDT) and develop a grounded theory that provides a rich and nuanced understanding of how the AIDT process unfolds within Canadian small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs).

This article is a follow-up to the publication of a CIRANO report entitled Vers une meilleure compréhension de la transformation numérique optimisée par l’IA et de ses implications pour les PME manufacturières au Canada.

→ Read the article

→ Read the CIRANO report

SUMMARY: Artificial intelligence (AI) empowers traditional firms to transform into Industry 4.0, enabling them to compete in an era of rapid technological advancements. However, AI adoption remains limited among Canadian firms. In this article, the authors identify the key dimensions of AI-driven digital transformation (AIDT) and develop a grounded theory that provides a rich and nuanced understanding of how the AIDT process unfolds within Canadian small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs). The study reveals that the AIDT process is shaped by the interplay of five core dimensions: evaluating transformation context, auditing organizational readiness, piloting the AI integration, scaling the implementation, and leading the transformation. AIDT is characterized as a path-dependent, slow evolutionary change spectrum that demands firms adapt by developing their sensing, seizing and reconfiguration capacities to evolve and sustain their evolutionary fitness. The study explores several theoretical and managerial implications that arise from the findings.