Entrepreneurial ecosystems are highly relevant in fostering startup success, as they facilitate access to essential resources and enhance collaboration among diverse actors through the promotion of knowledge and skills exchange. At the same time, the rapid growth in the use of artificial intelligence within organizations is not only profoundly transforming business practices but is also influencing the performance of startups within entrepreneurial ecosystems. Despite the increasing academic and managerial attention to these topics, the literature still presents an important gap regarding how startup behaviors, particularly their dynamic capabilities, influence the adoption of emerging and disruptive technologies such as artificial intelligence, and how such adoption can contribute to improving the sustainability performance of both startups and the entrepreneurial ecosystems in which they operate.
To address this gap, this study proposes a theoretical model that analyzes the role of startups’ dynamic capabilities in the adoption of artificial intelligence. Furthermore, the study examines how the adoption of such technologies influences the sustainable performance of startups, considered a key indicator of the overall sustainability of entrepreneurial ecosystems. The model is empirically tested using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM), based on data collected through a self-administered questionnaire from startups listed in the official Register of Innovative Startups in Italy.
The results show that sensing and transforming capabilities positively influence the adoption of artificial intelligence technologies, while seizing capabilities do not exhibit a significant effect. Moreover, it is found that the adoption of artificial intelligence has a positive impact on the sustainability of entrepreneurial ecosystems. These results contribute to enriching the literature on entrepreneurial ecosystems and provide relevant implications for both researchers and policymakers, as well as managers interested in promoting sustainable innovation.
In particular, they highlight the need to strengthen startups’ capabilities for adaptation and technological monitoring, as well as to develop targeted support policies that facilitate access to financial resources, managerial skills, and training programs, in order to foster more effective adoption of artificial intelligence and, consequently, improve the sustainability and long-term resilience of entrepreneurial ecosystems.