Smarter Decisions, New Challenges
Zakaria Talouni, Maria Kubala, Iris Koleša, BRENDA NXUMALO, Barbara Jankowska · 2025
This chapter investigates the impact of artificial intelligence on startups’ strategic decision-making process. The authors first provide a theoretical framework on the decision-making process – particularly in startups and involving artificial intelligence. They follow this by presenting findings from two original case studies conducted in a startup incubator from Slovenia and a startup from Switzerland – an emerging and a developed market that are both recording notable startup activity and artificial intelligence uptake. The results indicate that startups are willing to accept the risks related to using artificial intelligence due to its advantages in decision-making and business growth acceleration. Startups also proactively counterbalance some risks by investing resources in quality data as an input for or complement to artificial intelligence. While artificial intelligence is less valuable for “softer” aspects of doing business, it frees time for startups to engage in the latter.