The growing adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in human resource management is transforming recruitment practices, yet empirical evidence on its implications for human intellectual development and firm performance among small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in developing African economies remains limited. This study examined AI-enabled recruitment on hiring efficiency, hiring quality and human intellectual development among SMEs in Lagos, Nigeria, while assessing the mediating role of intellectual capital and the moderating effects of adoption barriers. Anchored in the Resource-Based View, the study adopted a quantitative cross-sectional survey design. The population comprised 121,239 registered SMEs in Lagos State, from which a sample of 439 respondents was determined using Yamane’s formula at a 5% margin of error. Data were collected from SMEs owners and human resource managers using a structured questionnaire and analysed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) with 5,000 bootstrap subsamples. The findings revealed that AI-enabled recruitment significantly improved hiring efficiency (β = 0.482, p < 0.001), hiring quality (β = 0.415, p < 0.001), and human intellectual development (β = 0.367, p < 0.001). Intellectual capital partially mediated the relationship between AI-enabled recruitment and SMEs performance, accounting for 38.8% of the total effect. However, infrastructure constraints (β = −0.214, p < 0.001) and cost and skills constraints (β = −0.187, p < 0.001) significantly weakened the positive effects of AI-enabled recruitment. The study concludes that the strategic value of AI in SMEs recruitment extends beyond hiring efficiency to the development of human and organisational intellectual capabilities. It recommends affordable and scalable AI solutions, targeted digital-skills development, improved digital infrastructure, and responsible AI governance to enable SMEs to translate AI adoption into sustainable performance.
Keywords: AI-enabled recruitment, Artificial Intelligence, SMEs performance, human intellectual development; intellectual capital
