The study, titled “Strategic Financial Agility in Strengthening Corporate Resilience under Artificial Intelligence Driven Economic Uncertainty,” examined how financial agility relates to a company’s ability to maintain operations, adapt to disruption, and respond to changing business conditions. Its results suggest that resilience depends not only on maintaining financial resources but also on how effectively companies can adjust their use when circumstances change.
AI Creates Opportunities and New Business Challenges
Artificial intelligence is changing how businesses process information, plan operations, and make decisions. AI-powered tools can help companies analyze information more quickly, improve efficiency, and identify opportunities. At the same time, technological change can create new investment requirements, alter business models, and increase pressure on managers to respond faster.
These conditions make financial adaptability increasingly important. A company may have sufficient resources but still struggle if its budget cannot be redirected when priorities change or if financial decisions take too long.
In Bengkulu, the study’s regional context, the economy grew by 4.99% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2025, according to the provincial statistics agency cited in the article. However, economic growth does not eliminate the challenges companies face from technological developments and changing external conditions.
The researchers approached this challenge through the concept of strategic financial agility: a company’s ability to manage financial resources flexibly, make decisions promptly, and adjust investment plans in response to changes.
Survey of 120 Financial and Strategic Managers
The researchers used a quantitative survey involving 120 financial and strategic managers at one company in Bengkulu. Participants were selected because their roles involved financial or strategic decision-making.
Respondents completed a structured questionnaire using a five-point response scale. The researchers analyzed the data using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling, a statistical method used to assess relationships between concepts that are measured through multiple indicators.
The study examined three central concepts: strategic financial agility, corporate resilience, and economic uncertainty associated with AI-driven change. Importantly, AI-driven economic uncertainty served as the context of the research rather than as a variable tested for whether it strengthens or weakens the relationship between financial agility and resilience.
The respondents included 66 financial managers, representing 55% of the sample, and 54 strategic managers, representing 45%. Most respondents were aged 36–45, accounting for 60.83% of participants. The largest employment-tenure group had worked for six to ten years, representing 41.67% of the sample.
Financial Agility Shows a Significant Relationship with Resilience
The main result was a positive and statistically significant relationship between strategic financial agility and corporate resilience. The reported path coefficient was β = 0.541, with a t-statistic of 8.333 and a p-value below 0.001.
In practical terms, the finding indicates that stronger financial agility was associated with stronger corporate resilience among the respondents represented in the study. The statistical result supports the researchers’ hypothesis that companies with more adaptive financial capabilities are better positioned to maintain functions and respond to changes.
The model reported an R² value of 0.292. This means strategic financial agility explained 29.2% of the variation in corporate resilience within the model. It does not mean that resilience increased by 29.2%. Other factors, including leadership, organizational culture, digital capabilities, innovation, and workforce readiness, may also contribute to a company’s ability to withstand disruption.
The researchers also examined three components of financial agility:
- Flexibility in resource allocation: This aspect received an average score of 3.442, the highest among the three components. It reflects the importance of being able to redirect financial resources as priorities change.
- Investment adaptability: This component had an average score of 3.433, indicating the relevance of adjusting investment decisions to evolving business conditions.
- Speed of financial decisions: This component recorded an average score of 3.428, highlighting the role of timely decisions in responding to emerging risks and opportunities.
The differences between these average scores were small. Nevertheless, the pattern illustrates how financial agility combines flexible budgeting, responsive decision-making, and investment adjustment rather than relying on a single financial practice.
What the Findings Mean for Business Leaders
For business leaders, the findings point to a practical shift in how finance can support organizational resilience. Financial management need not function solely as an administrative activity focused on reporting, budgeting, and monitoring expenditure. It can also play a strategic role in helping companies adapt to uncertainty.
First, companies can establish processes that allow funds to be redirected when market conditions, technology requirements, or operational risks change. This does not mean abandoning financial controls. Instead, it means designing clear procedures for reviewing priorities and reallocating resources when justified.
Second, managers can improve the timeliness of financial decisions by clarifying decision-making responsibilities and establishing regular reviews of business risks and investment assumptions. Faster decisions are most useful when they are supported by reliable information and appropriate accountability.
Third, companies can reassess investment plans as AI technologies develop. Businesses may need to evaluate the costs, expected benefits, implementation risks, and workforce requirements associated with adopting new systems before committing substantial resources.
These measures may help companies prepare for disruption, although the study did not test individual management interventions or establish that any specific practice will guarantee resilience.
Financial Agility Is Important, but Not the Only Answer
The findings support the view that adaptive financial management is one important capability for companies facing technological and economic change. However, the study has limitations. It examined 120 managers at a single company in Bengkulu, used a cross-sectional survey, and measured responses during one observation period. Its findings therefore cannot automatically be generalized to every company, industry, or region in Indonesia.
Further research involving multiple companies and industries over longer periods could help determine whether the same relationship holds across different business environments. Future studies could also examine how digital maturity, leadership agility, organizational learning, and AI capabilities relate to corporate resilience.
For now, the central message is clear: in a business environment increasingly influenced by AI, companies need more than financial reserves. They also need the ability to adjust how those resources are deployed, make timely decisions, and reconsider investments as conditions evolve.
Author Profile
The article was written by five researchers affiliated with Indonesian higher education institutions:
- Muhammad Istan — Institut Agama Islam Negeri Curup, Indonesia; corresponding author.
- Jenita — Universitas Islam Negeri Sultan Syarif Kasim Riau, Indonesia.
- Rahman Arifin — Institut Agama Islam Negeri Curup, Indonesia.
- Ety Yuliati — Universitas Ibn Khaldun Bogor, Indonesia.
- Imam Buchari — Universitas Al-Amien Prenduan, Indonesia.
The source article does not specify the authors’ academic degrees or provide detailed individual biographies. The research focuses on strategic financial agility, financial management, corporate resilience, and economic uncertainty associated with artificial intelligence.
Research Source
Article title: Strategic Financial Agility in Strengthening Corporate Resilience under Artificial Intelligence Driven Economic Uncertainty
Authors: Muhammad Istan, Jenita, Rahman Arifin, Ety Yuliati, and Imam Buchari
Journal: International Journal of Management and Business Intelligence (IJMBI)
Publication year: 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.59890/ijmbi.v4i5.64
Official journal website: https://journalijmbi.my.id/index.php/ijmbi
ISSN-E: 3025-5589
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