Deploying explainable AI in entrepreneurial organizations: Role of the human-AI interface

The current advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) is the culmination of a prolonged effort to endow machines with human cognitive capabilities. Scholars and practitioners agree that AI has the potential to revolutionize decision-making in uncertain environments, with the potential role of AI in shaping entrepreneurial decision-making. Simultaneously, AI presents novel challenges, such as explainability, privacy, and data security, and may induce mistakes and ethical issues. As organizations and individuals expect AI decision-making processes to be transparent and understandable, the question of how entrepreneurial organizations adopt AI technologies remains unanswered. There is a lack of clarity on the implications of AI in the context of entrepreneurial organizations. To answer our research question, we conduct a qualitative study and use an interpretive research paradigm with an abductive approach to enrich the current understanding of the role of Explainable AI in shaping organizational processes and accomplishing organizational goals. The finding reveals that Explainable AI enables entrepreneurial organizations to align their decision-making. The role of the human-AI interface is crucial to leverage AI recommendations. We conclude with a discussion of future research on Explainable AI.