Content

Artificial intelligence (AI) is creating new opportunities for startups, which are attracting the attention of entrepreneurs. One of the fundamental questions they are addressing is how AI can potentially impact their business and how they can leverage them for their benefit (Pfau & Rimpp, 2021). Similarly, since AI models are fundamentally based on data, entrepreneurs could make accurate predictions based on enough data, which they can use in their decision making to better classify volatile and complex events (Guglielmo Giuggioli, Massimiliano Matteo Pellegrini 2022). An umbrella term for extraordinarily volatile, uncertain and complex events are the so-called black swans.
Black swan events are referred to as a rare, unique phenomenon that is highly unpredictable, full of surprises, and results in a chain of unfavorable consequences. They are also referred to as "the unknown unknowns." (Green, 2011). Nassim Nicholas Taleb, in his best-selling book "The Black Swan: The impact of the highly improbable", has drawn attention to these unforeseen phenomena, which also have a very large impact on the system. He emphasizes that such situations can occur at any time and preparation for them is essential (Taleb, 2007; Musgrave, 2009). Despite the possibility of predictions by AI models, the consequences of black swan events can also impact AI-driven startups. This can be profound and threaten their performance as well as their viability, making it an urgent concern for entrepreneurs and investors.

Main Research Question:

How can AI-driven start-ups effectively anticipate and prepare for Black Swan events?

Sub-Research questions:

What is the impact of Black Swan events on AI-driven start-ups, and what are the key factors that influence this impact?

What strategies and approaches can AI start-ups adopt to anticipate and prepare for Black Swan events?

Research Goal

Therefore, the goal of this study is to both understand the causes and effects of black swan events and to explore how this can impact AI-driven startups. By identifying key factors that influence the impact, possible strategies that AI-driven startups could adopt can be derived. In addition, the aim here is to gain initial insights into how AI startups deal with such black swan events and whether or how AI supports them in doing so. Moreover, complex systems and events such as those of a black swan, as well as their challenges, can contribute to new insights and provide guidance to other stakeholders besides the entrepreneur.

The results of this work serve to turn black swan risks into opportunities and increase the resilience of AI-driven startups. 

Possible Methodologies

- Systematic Literature Review

- Qualitative research methods: in-depth interviews, focus groups, case studies to gain a comprehensive understanding of the impact of Black Swan events on AI start-ups and the strategies they adopt to mitigate the risk.

- Quantitative research methods: surveys and statistical analysis to validate and quantify the results obtained from the qualitative research.

- Mixed methods approach, combining both qualitative and quantitative research methods

Other research methods can be used or in mix to validate and strengthen the findings of the study.

If you are interested in writing a thesis on the above topic, please contact me with an exposé, curriculum vitae and a short mail with the name of your desired topic.

Reference:

Pfau, W., Rimpp, P. (2021), "AI-Enhanced Business Models for Digital Entrepreneurship". In: Soltanifar, M., Hughes, M., Göcke, L. (eds) Digital Entrepreneurship. Future of Business and Finance. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-53914-6_7

Giuggioli, G. and Pellegrini, M.M. (2022), "Artificial intelligence as an enabler for entrepreneurs: a systematic literature review and an agenda for future research", International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEBR-05-2021-0426

Taleb, N.N (2007), "The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable"; Random House: New York, NY, USA; pp. 34–36

Green, N. (2011), "Keys to success in managing a black swan event [White paper], AON Corporation", Retrieved from http://www.aon.com/attachments/risk-services/Manage_Black_Swan_Even_Whitepaper_31811.pdf.

Musgrave, G. L. (2009), "The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable", Global Association of Riks Professionals, Retrieved from: https://www.academia.edu/48778878/The_Black_Swan_The_Impact_of_the_Highly_Improbable