Artificial Intelligence in Sustainable Sourcing - An explorative study on Artificial Intelligence inside Sustainable Sourcing

Abstract

This exploratory qualitative study aims to investigate how the technology “Artificial Intelligence” can aid a large multinational conglomerate company, IKEA, in solving some of their sustainable sourcing challenges. By mapping the challenges and investigating the opportunities for applying AI as a solution, and by highlighting the factors needed for successful adoption, this study concludes that AI can assist, to a certain degree, in solving some sustainable sourcing challenges. Moreover, there are some pre-conditions companies should meet and limitations of AI that they have to address before AI can be applied in the sustainable sourcing field. Finally, the findings of this study provide some managerial implications and recommendations for companies who aspire to source sustainably through techno-logical innovations like Artificial Intelligence.