How does incorporating ChatGPT within a firm reinforce agility-mediated performance? The moderating role of innovation infusion and firms’ ethical identity

The expansion of ChatGPT has sparked substantial discussions on the capabilities of generative artificial intelligence AI to profoundly reshape the business environment. However, empirical data on ChatGPT and its effects on firm performance are still lacking. In accordance with relevant literature, this study investigates the influence of ChatGPT-enabled agility, encompassing both operational and market facets, on firm performance. This work studies the moderating roles of innovative infusion of ChatGPT and ethical identity in the association between incorporating ChatGPT into standard processes with operational and market agilities. Data from a survey of IT executives were analyzed to validate our proposed hypotheses. We found that while the infusion of ChatGPT in an organization moderates the relationship between ChatGPT incorporation and operational agility, infusion does not significantly impact market agilities. In addition, we found that a firm's ethical identity moderates ChatGPT-enabled market agilities but not operational agility. We also found that both types of agility play mediating roles in improving firm performance. This study adds to the growing body of literature on dynamic capabilities by presenting and testing a theory on the influence of a firm's capability to incorporate ChatGPT on agility, firm performance, and the role of ChatGPT infusion and firm ethical identity. • Empirical evidence on how and if ChatGPT impacts firm performance remains uninvestigated. • This work examines the effect of incorporating ChatGPT on agility-driven performance of firms. • The effect of incorporating ChatGPT on performance is mediated by operational and market agility. • This study looks at the moderating roles of Infusion of ChatGPT within a firm and ethical identity.