Harnessing Artificial Intelligence for Strategic Agility in Emerging Markets: A Systematic Review

As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to transform the global business landscape, its capacity to foster strategic agility in emerging markets remains underexplored. This systematic review addresses this gap by synthesizing evidence from 37 recent studies to clarify how AI enables strategic agility in the dynamic and uncertain conditions of emerging markets through rapid adaptation, informed decision-making, and resource reconfiguration. Drawing on the resource-based view, dynamic capabilities, and institutional perspectives, the proposed integrative framework addresses the opportunities and challenges across various contexts by highlighting contextual factors and organizational capabilities as critical enablers, and institutional voids and infrastructure gaps as key barriers—emphasizing the need to align AI initiatives with local conditions. While acknowledging limitations related to the breadth and recency of the available studies, the review ultimately advances a context-sensitive approach to sustainable competitive advantage, offering practical recommendations for managers and policymakers and setting a robust agenda for future research.