The role of AI-enabled knowledge integration in sustainable innovations: a sociomaterial perspective

Purpose This paper demonstrates that one of the most significant advantages of artificial intelligence (AI) is the development of both social and material skills, which contribute to enhanced sustainability. This paper will address the role of AI-driven knowledge integration (AIEKI) as regulated by innovation, such as the digital absorptive capacity (DAC), and ethical guidance, such as ethical knowledge curation (EKC) in the same breath. This paper aims to investigate the impact of these factors on the economic performance and sustainable innovation performance of an organization. Design/methodology/approach As a quantitative study, a survey was mailed to 295 IT professionals in various locations. To determine the quality of fit of this study’s model, item validity and data reliability, the authors used structural equation modeling (SEM) through partial least squares-based SEM. Findings The findings reveal that AI-enabled knowledge integration improves digital absorptive capacity and ethical knowledge curation. The fact that these elements also play a crucial role in enhancing sustainable innovation performance underscores the importance of incorporating artificial intelligence in the value creation process. In addition, it was found that knowledge system complexity influenced certain of these relationships, indicating that the more complex the system was, the stronger the sociomaterial connections. Practical implications The findings are highly practical and offer clear recommendations for practitioners. Managers need to move beyond the focus on artificial intelligence technology and tool sets to the investment on the integrated sociomaterial capabilities of digital absorptive capacity and ethical knowledge curation. In other words, they will be able to roll out training initiatives to teach their employees how to integrate artificial intelligence with DAC. They can also stress on the importance of sound governance practices. This two-faceted strategy is effective in making AI-enabled innovations not only economical, but also socially accountable and sustainable. Originality/value Such research has the value of originality because (a) it conducts robust empirical evidence of the sociomateriality theory in terms of knowledge processes and AI (b) and translates the artificial intelligence ethics discussion into practice, branding the field of curating knowledge ethically (CKE) as a digital absorptive capacity (capability) (c). For managers, the study offers a two-way approach to implementing artificial intelligence, aiming to achieve both productivity and sustainability.