An Examination of Artificial Intelligence Adoption for Sustainable Financial Management among Zimbabwean SMEs (International Journal of Sustainability in Business and Economics)

Summary

• Micro and SMEs represent approximately 90% of Zimbabwe's economy and around 60% of the nation's Gross Domestic Product.p.5
• A quantitative survey was administered across 5 major cities to a final usable sample of 400 SME owner-entrepreneurs.p.11
• Out of 445 questionnaires distributed, 412 were returned, achieving a response rate of 92.58%.p.13
• The structural equation model accounted for 58.2% of the variance (R² = 0.582) in AI adoption for financial management.p.16
• Technological infrastructure had the strongest positive influence on AI adoption with a path coefficient of β = 0.312.p.16
• Implementation cost showed a statistically significant negative association with AI adoption (β = -0.203).p.16

Key insights

1. Cost of implementation represents the most significant barrier to AI adoption among Zimbabwean SMEs (β = -0.203).p.16
2. Technological infrastructure serves as the primary positive enabler for AI adoption in sustainable financial management (β = 0.312).p.16
3. Managerial competence significantly drives AI adoption among SMEs with a path coefficient of β = 0.274.p.16
4. Financial literacy plays a critical enabling role in AI adoption decisions with a path coefficient of β = 0.261.p.16
5. Regulatory and policy environments positively influence AI adoption (β = 0.189), though showing the smallest effect size among tested drivers.p.16
6. The majority of surveyed SME owner-entrepreneurs were aged 26–35 years, representing 37.0% of total respondents.p.12