Abstract

The results show how AI influences Research and Development (R&D) management and leadership practice in the decision-making and innovation outcomes. The approach is mixed-method and involves expert interviews, survey data from R&D professionals, and case studies of organizations using AI. This analysis examines how AI affects labour organization in research laboratories and allows researchers to compare its effects across organizations. Research shows that AI delivers better-informed judgments, faster product development, and more efficient resource use. For instance, a positive correlation between the dissemination of AI-based solutions and improvement in business productivity and new outputs. Together, these qualitative observations point directly to the need for adaptive leadership and organizational changes to enable AI-enabled transformation. The research shows that AI is a very powerful force changing the managerial ideology and the business culture in R&D. To fully realise the strategic benefits AI has to provide in guiding and developing the next generation of managers and leaders, companies need to adapt to this new environment.