While existing research acknowledges the broad impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on hotel operations, its competitive advantages remain underexplored. This study aims to examine Greek hotel entrepreneurs’ perceptions of AI’s impact on competitiveness and their intention to adopt AI in their operations.
Combining the theories of Complexity and Rational Choice, and drawing from a nationwide sample of 400 Greek hotel entrepreneurs, this study examines the achievement of competitiveness through the AI-oriented antecedents of trust, perceived benefits, perceived risks, business performance and innovation. The examination of the complex perceptions was conducted through the use of fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis, and the identification of the necessary conditions was examined through Necessary Condition Analysis. The selection for examining the chaordic perceptions of the entrepreneurs was made after confirming that the research is characterised by general asymmetry.
The results have generated four sufficient complex configurations able to lead to competitiveness, while the research identified two simple conditions (trust; perceived benefits) as necessary. As a result, three out of the four AI-oriented pathways were considered acceptable (beneficial aspects of AI; risk-induced trust; and benefit–risk nexus) and able to achieve enhanced competitiveness, while the fourth pathway was excluded from further analysis.
The findings provide practical contributions by presenting alternative AI solutions that enable companies to transform and strengthen their competitiveness, while simultaneously advancing our understanding of how AI influences entrepreneurial decision-making. Furthermore, several managerial implications are identified and examined.
