AI-augmented knowledge creation and sustainable innovation: exploring green transformation, integration stakeholders and ecosystems

The research explores the impact of Artificial Intelligence-enhanced knowledge creation (AIAKC) on sustainable innovation (SI) in technology-driven manufacturing and service sectors in Pakistan. It focuses on the relatively unexplored intersection of AIAKC, Green Digital Transformation (GDT), Socio-Technical Integration (STI), Sustainable Complexity (SC), and Circular Knowledge Ecosystems (CKE) for organizational sustainability and resilience. A cross-sectional survey of 233 respondents from sectors such as renewable energy, agritech, and logistics was conducted. Using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM), the study analyzed direct and mediating effects of the selected variables. Results indicate that AIAKC significantly affects SI, and GDT and STI act as mediators. Moreover, stakeholder complexity and CKE enable and moderate these relationships by supporting adaptive, open learning across organizational boundaries. The findings emphasize the importance of placing digital transformation initiatives in system-level approaches of sustainable value creation. The research is novel as it integrates AIhuman collaboration into the circular knowledge ecosystem framework in the setting of an emerging economy. It offers valuable insights into how AI-enabled knowledge processes support sustainable innovation and provides strategic implications for policymakers and organizational leaders who seek to introduce AI responsibly into complex sociotechnical systems for long-term resilience.