AI Adoption in Professional Services Firms : A Comparative Study of India and Sweden

Despite Sweden’s advanced digital infrastructure, it lags behind the emerging market India in AI adoption, ranking 25th compared to India’s 10th in the 2024 Global AI Index. This paradox raises questions about what truly drives AI adoption. This thesis examines how a market-leading professional services firm (PSF), operating in both India and Sweden, adopts artificial intelligence (AI) in its internal operations, and what factors influence variations in AI use. Based on six interviews and 31 open-ended survey responses, the findings are analysed across six themes: current AI usage, organizational support and training, perceived barriers, knowledge-sharing practices, future outlook, and managerial encouragement. While Indian employees demonstrated a more experimental and adaptive approach, Swedish counterparts emphasized caution and regulatory compliance. Yet, both groups viewed AI primarily as a tool for improving efficiency, not replacing human expertise. Enablers such as managerial support and informal peer learning were found to be key, while trust, data privacy, and seniority-related hesitation presented common challenges. The thesis ultimately shows that AI adoption is not only technical but a socially embedded process, shaped by culture, routines, and the ways in which AI is supported and made meaningful.