Risk factors in the adoption of artificial intelligence by SMES: a comprehensive study

The main objective of this study is to analyse the barriers that limit the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in SMEs. To do so, seven risk categories will be examined: functional (FUR), hedonic (HR), security (SR), social (SOR), financial (FR), performance (PR) and psychological (PYR). The ch...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Ledesma Chaves, Pablo, Gil Cordero, Eloy, Navarro García, Antonio, Higuera Reina, Jeisson Alexander
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión aceptada para publicación
Fecha de publicación:2026
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Sevilla (US)
Repositorio:idUS. Depósito de Investigación de la Universidad de Sevilla
OAI Identifier:oai:dnet:idus________::9877a69b36037fa9a3e3b8e06d505f6a
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/11441/183876
https://doi.org/10.1108/EJIM-06-2025-0719
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Artificial intelligence
SMEs
Barriers to adoption
Distrust
Risks
Technostress
Hesitation
Descripción
Sumario:The main objective of this study is to analyse the barriers that limit the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in SMEs. To do so, seven risk categories will be examined: functional (FUR), hedonic (HR), security (SR), social (SOR), financial (FR), performance (PR) and psychological (PYR). The choice of these seven categories is based on a comprehensive review of the literature on technology adoption and perceived risks, and these categories are considered to comprehensively capture the main risks associated with AI as perceived by SMEs. Additionally, the influence of factors such as technostress (TE), distrust (DT) and hesitancy (HES) on the adoption process will be investigated.This study represents one of the first investigations to comprehensively address the risks associated with the use of AI by firms, and to address the level of direct risk that this represents with respect to their behaviour. The treatment of non-adoption issues is an innovation in the academic approach, allowing for more comprehensive conceptual modelling of findings. This study provides a theoretical basis for a comprehensive analysis of the risks affecting the adoption of AI in firms, marking an academic innovation by focussing the analysis on non-adoption behaviour.