Beyond Efficiency: Developing and Validating a Multi-Dimensional Scale for AI-Induced Organizational Performance in Nigerian Fintech and Professional Service Firms

 

Existing measures of AI's organizational impact focus narrowly on efficiency, overlooking negative effects like deskilling and ethical drift. This paper develops a multi dimensional scale capturing both positive and negative AI effects in Nigerian fintech SMEs and Big Four audit firms. Following scale development guidelines, the study used item generation from literature and 15 interviews, expert review, pilot testing (n=50), and a main survey (n=351). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis revealed a six factor 24 item structure explaining 71 percent of variance: Efficiency Gains, Innovation Enablement, Decision Quality Erosion, Deskilling, Ethical Drift, and Organizational Memory Loss. The scale offers researchers a validated instrument to study AI's dual effects across organizational contexts and provides practitioners a diagnostic tool for holistic AI implementation assessment in emerging markets.

Presented at 2025 Africa Business School Conference.