Entrepreneurial Competencies in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: Proposal for a Conceptual Model

Abstract

The accelerated diffusion of artificial intelligence (AI) is deeply reshaping the contours of entrepreneurial action, calling into question the relevance of classical frameworks of entrepreneurial competencies built in now-obsolete technological environments. This theoretical contribution aims to propose an integrated and operationalisable conceptual model of entrepreneurial competencies specifically adapted to the AI era, addressing a gap identified in the existing literature. The approach draws on a systematic literature review articulated around three complementary theoretical frameworks Resource-Based View (RBV), dynamic capabilities theory, and the cognitive entrepreneurship framework and follows Churchill's (1979) procedure for scale item development. The proposed model is structured around five dimensions: augmented digital competencies (ADC), adaptive learning competencies (ALC), ethical AI management competencies (EAM), augmented innovation competencies (AIC), and hybrid relational competencies (HRC), each operationalised through scale items amenable to validation via structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). This work constitutes the first multidimensional framework to explicitly integrate an ethical dimension (EAM) into the modelling of entrepreneurial competencies in the AI era, with direct implications for entrepreneurial education, innovation ecosystems and SME support policies.