ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND DIGITAL LEADERSHIP AS DRIVERS OF SME PLATFORMISATION IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF UKRAINE'S DIGITAL ECONOMY

Abstract

The article examines the role of artificial intelligence and digital leadership in the platformisation of small and medium-sized enterprises as one of the mechanisms for the development of Ukraine’s digital economy. The relevance of the study is determined by the rapid diffusion of AI-based solutions, the growing importance of SME digital maturity, and the increasing role of managerial factors in digital transformation under wartime economic conditions. The purpose of the article is to develop an analytical framework explaining through which organisational mechanisms artificial intelligence and digital leadership influence SME platformisation and expand their participation in Ukraine’s digital economy. It is substantiated that the effect of artificial intelligence on SME transformation is not automatic and is realised through digital maturity, data quality, skills, managerial readiness, and access to external support infrastructure. The article shows that digital leadership acts as the intermediate link between technological resources and actual business model change, while platformisation represents a form of SME integration into digital ecosystems, cloud services, e-commerce, analytical tools, and integrated channels of interaction with customers and partners. It is established that the economic effect of platform transformation is manifested in reduced order-processing time, lower routine-operation costs, broader digital sales channels, higher process repeatability, stronger customer retention, and faster response to changes in demand. It is demonstrated that, for Ukrainian SMEs, platformisation performs modernisation, adaptation, and stabilisation functions simultaneously under wartime conditions, labour losses, limited financing, and uneven digital integration. The article concludes that the real contribution of SMEs to the development of Ukraine’s digital economy depends on the transition from fragmented use of digital tools to platform-organised business models in which artificial intelligence, digital leadership, data quality, skills, security, and managerial adaptability form a unified economic mechanism.