Artificial Intelligence Adoption and Employee Performance in SMEs: A Thematic Analysis of Digital Skills, Organizational Support, and Work Redesign

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are increasingly adopting artificial intelligence (AI) to support business operations due to the availability of low-priced applications to provide customer support, marketing, accounting, communications, and decision-making. However, the relationship between AI adoption and employee performance in SMEs is not automatic. AI can reduce repetitive tasks and enhance access to various information sources, however, it can also become problematic when workers are not digitally engaged, managers give only minimum support, or the organization implements tools without ethical guidelines and redesign of work. This paper evaluates the impact of AI acceptance on the performance of employees working in SMEs based on a thematic analysis of secondary evidence. It proposes that the effectiveness of AI in enhancing employee performance can be achieved only successfully when digital skills, organizational support, employee trust, ethical governance, and redesigned work processes support technology adoption. The work can provides a practical framework explaining how SMEs can translate AI adoption into the deployment of AI into a better productivity, the quality of work, response to customers, and performance adaptability.