Artificial Intelligence Adoption and Organizational Innovation in Educational Institutions

Abstract

: Artificial Intelligence (AI) adoption has increasingly influenced the way educational institutions manage organizational processes, develop services, utilize information, and respond to technological change. This study aims to analyze how AI adoption contributes to organizational innovation by examining organizational readiness, technological infrastructure, digital competence, leadership support, AI utilization, barriers, governance, and institutional capacity for innovation. The study employed a qualitative descriptive research design involving educational institutions that had initiated or implemented AI in organizational activities. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, observations, and documentation involving institutional leaders, teachers, administrative personnel, and relevant stakeholders selected through purposive and snowball sampling. Data were analyzed using data condensation, data display, and conclusion drawing and verification. Research trustworthiness was established through source and technique triangulation, member checking, peer discussion, and the criteria of credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability. The findings indicate that organizational readiness for AI adoption is shaped by technological infrastructure, digital competence, leadership support, organizational culture, and strategic alignment. AI utilization contributes to administrative efficiency, data-informed decision-making, organizational communication, educational services, and knowledge management. The study further demonstrates that AI adoption can generate process, service, management, and knowledge innovation when technological capabilities are integrated with human expertise and organizational processes. Resistance to change, digital competency gaps, infrastructure limitations, ethical concerns, and data privacy constitute important barriers requiring systematic governance. The study concludes that AI adoption should be conceptualized as an organizational capability through which educational institutions transform technological resources into sustainable organizational innovation.