Challenges to Digital Maturity of Bulgarian Enterprises in the Era of Artificial Intelligence: The Strategy–Practice Divide

Authors:

Pages: 238-247

Abstract:

Artificial intelligence systems have transitioned from a technological horizon to an active managerial reality, posing both opportunities and systemic challenges for organizations worldwide. Bulgaria ranks among European Union member states with the lowest levels of enterprise digital maturity: according to the Digital Decade Country Report 2023, only 3.6% of Bulgarian enterprises have adopted artificial intelligence compared to an EU-27 average of 8%, while the overall share of enterprises integrating at least one advanced digital technology stands at 29,3% — the lowest in the Union. The persistent gap raises a central question: Is there a systemic divergence between formally declared strategies for artificial intelligence adoption and actual managerial practices in the Bulgar ian business environment? The present article examines this divergence through secondary data analysis of authoritative in ternational and institutional sources. The findings identify three systemic challenges impeding the transition from declarative strategy to operational implementation: a talent deficit, regulatory uncer tainty arising from the EU Artificial Intelligence Act (Regulation EU 2024/1689), and organizational resistance to change. Drawing on AI maturity models, the strategy-as-practice approach, and the technology-organization-environment framework, the study offers a dual contribution: theoretically, it operationalizes AI maturity as an analytical framework for assessing organizational readiness in small open economies; practically, it proposes a sector typology by degree of adaptation and targeted managerial recommendations. The results provide an empirical foundation for future primary re search in the European context.

Keywords:

AI adoption; organizational strategy; digital maturity; management; EU AI Act.

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