REWEAVING THE SOCIAL FABRIC OF BUSINESS: AI-DRIVEN COLLABORATIVE INNOVATION FOR SUSTAINABLE REVIVAL

In an era of pervasive digital transformation and deepening sustainability imperatives, organisations face the dual challenge of renewing their social fabric namely, stakeholder collaboration, trust networks and shared innovation ecosystems while leveraging the power of artificial intelligence (AI). This paper examines how AI-driven collaborative innovation can serve as a catalyst for sustainable business revival by reweaving social capital, fostering cross-organisational networks, and enabling socially responsible, value-creating innovations. Drawing on a systematic review of extant literature on AI, collaborative innovation, sustainable business models and open innovation ecosystems that develops an integrative theoretical framework linking AI-enabled capabilities, social-network renewal, stakeholder co-creation, and sustainability outcomes from selected firms. We propose a mixed-methods research design of collaborating qualitative interview and secondary data. The findings are expected to reveal how AI can enhance knowledge integration, network trust, and shared value creation and the key moderating factors (such as organisational culture, governance, and stakeholder engagement) and the boundary conditions. The study contributes to theory by illuminating the socio-technical mechanisms of AI-enabled collaborative innovation for sustainable business and to practice by offering guidelines for managers and policymakers to foster networked, sustainable business renewal.