Artificial intelligence-enabled green recruitment and transformational leadership in strengthening small and medium-sized enterprise resilience: The mediating roles of work engagement and artificial intelligence utilisation

Abstract

Orientation: Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in emerging economies increasingly face sustainability pressures and digital transformation demands that require adaptive human resource practices, effective leadership, and technology-enabled resilience. Research purpose: This study examines the role of artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled green recruitment and transformational leadership in strengthening SME resilience through work engagement and AI utilisation. Motivation for the study: Prior research has examined green human resource management, leadership, and digital transformation separately; however, limited empirical evidence explains how behavioural and technological mechanisms jointly shape SMEs resilience. Research approach/design and method: A quantitative explanatory design was applied using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). Data were collected through a structured questionnaire from 249 Indonesian SMEs owners and employees who had adopted digital practices in business processes or human resource management. Main findings: Artificial intelligence-enabled green recruitment and transformational leadership positively and significantly influenced work engagement, AI utilisation, and SME resilience. Work engagement and AI utilisation also strengthened SME resilience and mediated the effects of both antecedents on SMEs resilience. The behavioural pathway through work engagement showed a stronger contribution than the technological pathway. The model explained 79.0% of the variance in SMEs resilience. Practical/managerial implications: Small and medium-sized enterprises managers should integrate AI-enabled green recruitment with transformational leadership to enhance employee engagement, AI utilisation, and adaptive organisational behaviour. Contribution/value-add: This study contributes by integrating behavioural and technological mechanisms into a resilience framework for SMEs in an emerging economy context.

The authors' abstract, as published at the source. SA Journal of Human Resource Management, 2026 · DOI ↗