Strategic Decision-Making in the Age of AI: A Conceptual Framework for Managers

As Artificial Intelligence (AI) continues to embed itself into the core of business operations, leaders face a growing challenge: making room for machine intelligence without sidelining human judgment, ethics, or long-term strategic thinking. This paper presents a five-pillar framework to help managers integrate AI responsibly and effectively into decision-making processes. The model draws on strategic management theory and is informed by real-world examples from various sectors, including healthcare, finance, logistics, and education. The framework highlights five key areas: data literacy, ethical governance, AI-enhanced intuition, transparency and explainability, and risk assessment. These pillars are not standalone concepts—they work together, offering a practical roadmap for moving beyond scattered or experimental AI efforts toward intentional, organization-wide transformation. Rather than treating AI as a replacement for human insight, the framework emphasizes complementarity, drawing on theories such as bounded rationality, sociotechnical systems, and the Technology Acceptance Model. Through applied examples, the paper demonstrates how companies are addressing real challenges, such as algorithmic bias and decision risk, while navigating the promise and pitfalls of AI. Ultimately, this framework contributes to ongoing conversations about digital transformation by offering a grounded, flexible approach that balances performance goals with ethical responsibility. It also outlines the capabilities leaders will need to ensure AI-enabled strategies are scalable, context-aware, and adaptable to future change