A Systematic Review of Knowledge Management Practices as Antecedents of Artificial Intelligence Adoption in Nigerian SMEs

Abstract

Research on artificial intelligence adoption among Nigerian small and medium enterprises is young and fragmented, and studies that pair knowledge management practices with an artificial intelligence adoption outcome are rare. This systematic review takes stock of that evidence and asks which knowledge management practices are plausible antecedents of artificial intelligence adoption in this setting. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses 2020 guidelines, Google Scholar, Scopus, Web of Science and ResearchGate were searched using database-specific Boolean strings, yielding 1,286 records. After removing 274 duplicates, screening 1,012 titles and abstracts and assessing 171 full texts against two-tier eligibility criteria, 21 studies were included: three from Nigeria, three from wider African settings and 15 international comparative studies. Study quality was appraised with the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool and Joanna Briggs Institute checklists. Thematic synthesis identified four themes: knowledge sharing culture, absorptive capacity, digital leadership and structural constraints. Only four studies examined knowledge management directly, while most measured proxy constructs such as digital leadership, human capital or dynamic capabilities, and no Nigerian study measured knowledge management and artificial intelligence adoption together. The review concludes with a conceptual framework and seven testable propositions, alongside low-cost knowledge management interventions for small firms and recommendations for national digital transformation agencies.