Title: The Influence of Artificial Intelligence on Entrepreneurial Decision-Making
Authors: Temitope Stehphen Adeyemi
Volume: 9
Issue: 9
Pages: 282-295
Publication Date: 2025/09/28
Abstract:
The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) has fundamentally transformed business environments, reshaping how entrepreneurs identify, evaluate, and exploit opportunities. This study investigates the influence of AI on entrepreneurial decision-making, drawing on theoretical perspectives from bounded rationality, effectuation, and digital entrepreneurship. Using a mixed-methods approach, the research integrates insights from semi-structured interviews with technology-driven entrepreneurs and a structured survey of 250 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across diverse sectors. The findings reveal that AI enhances entrepreneurs' ability to process complex datasets, predict market trends, and mitigate risks, thereby improving strategic choices. However, reliance on AI also introduces new challenges, including algorithmic biases, overdependence on automated tools, and ethical concerns regarding data usage. The study contributes conceptually by situating AI as both an enabler and a disruptor within entrepreneurial ecosystems, theoretically by extending decision-making models to account for AI-driven augmentation, and empirically by providing evidence of AI's tangible effects on entrepreneurial performance. In doing so, it addresses key research gaps in the intersection of AI and entrepreneurship, offering nuanced insights into how technology complements, rather than replaces, human judgment. The implications are twofold: for entrepreneurs, the study underscores the importance of balancing AI adoption with critical human oversight; for policymakers and ecosystem stakeholders, it highlights the need to develop regulatory frameworks and training initiatives that foster responsible AI integration. Ultimately, this research enriches contemporary debates on digital transformation and offers a pathway for future studies exploring the socio-technical dynamics of AI in entrepreneurial practice.