Nicola Cucari, Sapienza University of Rome

Guanglei Zhang, Wuhan University of Technology

Jintao Lu, Shanxi University of Electronic Science and Technology

Hua Fan, Shanghai International Studies University

Eric Liguori, Florida State University

The global innovation landscape is undergoing a profound restructuring. Collaboration among geographically distributed innovation ecosystems is intensifying. At the same time, the rapid advancement and diffusion of artificial intelligence (AI) are reshaping the dynamics of global industrial competition. New innovation hubs are emerging across the Asia-Pacific region, Europe, and several emerging economies. In parallel, digital technologies, platformization, and the decentralization of computing power are reducing traditional geographical and scale barriers. As a result, the conditions for competition and innovation are being fundamentally redefined. In this context, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are no longer structurally disadvantaged. Instead, they can increasingly act as agile and innovation-driven players within global value chains.

AI-enabled technologies offer SMEs unprecedented opportunities. They can enhance productivity, improve decision-making, automate processes, and reconfigure business models toward more scalable and data-driven architectures. At the same time, AI adoption poses significant challenges related to investment capacity, skills gaps, cybersecurity risks, ethical concerns, and unequal access to digital infrastructures. Unlike large corporations, SMEs operate as socio-economic infrastructures deeply intertwined with local production systems, community networks, and place-based development trajectories.

This special issue examines how AI can reshape the future of small and medium-sized enterprises through three interconnected lenses: (1) Technological transformation - how SMEs can scientifically adopt and adapt AI technologies and integrate them into daily operations, medium- and long-term development strategies, and business model innovation to achieve technological transformation and sustainable growth; (2) Inclusive innovation - how AI can build a universally beneficial digital ecosystem for diverse entrepreneurial entities and disadvantaged or marginalized entrepreneurial groups to alleviate structural inequalities and promote more equitable and inclusive innovative development; and (3) Territorial and ecosystem development - how AI-enabled SMEs can enhance territorial economic resilience, improve territorial innovation systems, and support the implementation of local intelligent specialization strategies.

Contributions are particularly encouraged that move beyond technology adoption perspectives to explore how AI reconfigures organizational capabilities, entrepreneurial cognition, stakeholder relationships, and value creation mechanisms in SMEs.

Potential topics

• AI-driven business model innovation in SMEs
• Digital transformation pathways under technological turbulence
• AI and sustainable competitive advantage in resource-constrained firms
• AI-enabled work redesign and organizational reconfiguration in SMEs
• Inclusive AI ecosystems for minority, women, migrant, and informal entrepreneurs
• Algorithmic Bias and transparency in AI-assisted SMEs
• AI-enabled territorial innovation and smart regional development
• Public policies supporting equitable AI adoption among SMEs
• AI, cybersecurity, and risk governance in small businesses
• Human–AI collaboration and entrepreneurial decision-making
• Data strategies and knowledge management in SMEs
• Data ownership and territorial digital autonomy in AI-driven SME development
• Ethical, social, and governance implications of AI adoption
• AI platforms and SME participation in digital value chains
• AI for local resilience, crisis response, and adaptive entrepreneurship

Timeline

• September 25, 2026: Colloquium Extended Abstract Submission Deadline
• October 1, 2026: Colloquium Invitations Issued
• October 26, 2026: Colloquium Dates
• January 1, 2027: Full Paper Journal Submissions Open
• March 31, 2027: Full Paper Journal Submissions Deadline