Antecedents and outcomes of artificial intelligence adoption on the sustainable performance: the TOE framework perspective

Purpose This study aims to investigate the antecedents of artificial intelligence (AI) adoption and sustainable performance (SP) in the context of manufacturing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Jordan. Design/methodology/approach To fill the gap in the literature and achieve the research work objectives, the technology–organization–environment (TOE) framework and the partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) approach were used to analyze the sample data collected (n = 190) from manufacturing SMEs. Findings The findings indicate that technological, organizational and environmental context significantly influence the manufacturing SMEs’ AI adoption. Furthermore, AI adoption positively associated with economic, environmental and social performance. Originality/value This paper explains the TOE theory in an innovative technological setting. The paper also provides knowledge about how AI adoption may influence sustainable performance. Overall, this study provides new investigation into the literature concerning AI technologies and sustainable performance through the TOE lens.