Evaluating the use of artificial intelligence on decision making in business strategy by retail companies of the UAE

Abstract

This research dissertation focused on determining the role and effectiveness of artificial intelligence (AI) in strategic business decisions made by entities within the UAE retail sector. Consequently, the dissertation's objectives are to analyze the influence of AI in business strategy decision-making, identify the challenges businesses face in using AI for strategy formulation, explore ethical considerations related to AI usability, and propose possible solutions to these ethical considerations and challenges for the retail sector in the UAE. This research adopted an inductive approach, interpretivist philosophy, and exploratory design. The dissertation gathered non-numerical data from relevant past sources through an archival data strategy. Finally, the research utilized secondary data and conduct thematic analysis for data interpretation. This research revealed that AI is highly effective in making efficient business strategy-related decisions within the UAE retail sector. This dissertation also uncovered that the high cost of integrating AI and the substantial training expenses for staff to use such sophisticated systems are significant challenges for businesses in the UAE retail sector. Lastly, data privacy and security, along with the reliability bias of AI, are the main ethical considerations where AI-related frameworks like TAM, RBV, NRBV, and DCF can effectively assist UAE retail businesses in overcoming the challenges and ethical concerns outlined above.