Artificial intelligence-driven digital servitization: The importance of platform characteristics and firm-level factors

Abstract

This study explores the connection between artificial intelligence (AI) platform characteristics and digital servitization. The study further investigates how firm-related factors influence this connection. The AI platforms that firms utilize are industrial digital platforms that employ AI-based tools to support their operations. Digital servitization has become a common transformation in several industries collaborating with platforms and seeking ways to establish ecosystems. AI provides substantial opportunities for digital servitization to create revenue streams and improve performance by reducing costs and enhancing customer outcomes. However, the underlying characteristics of the AI platforms that support firms' digital servitization have seldom been explored among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Based on survey data collected from 179 SMEs, this study conceptualizes five characteristics as drivers of AI platform utilization and investigates their impact on digital servitization using multiple regression analyses. First, this study develops an AI platform characteristic construct. Second, the study builds a theoretical framework showing which AI platform characteristics leverage digital servitization. Ultimately, this research contributes to the understanding of the connections between AI platform characteristics and digital servitization.