FIRM SIZE, DIGITAL SKILLS AND AI ADOPTION IN EUROPEAN ENTERPRISES: EVIDENCE FROM EUROSTAT DATA

The rapid diffusion of artificial intelligence technologies has intensified debates about the capacity of enterprises to integrate digital tools into operational and managerial processes.However, easier access to AI applications does not necessarily translate into equal adoption across firms.This paper investigates AI adoption gaps between small, medium-sized and large enterprises in the European Union, with particular attention to the organisational and human-resource conditions that may shape these differences.Using Eurostat data for 2025, the study builds a country by enterprise-size dataset covering 27 EU member states and three firm-size categories.The empirical analysis combines descriptive comparison, size-gap analysis, pooled Ordinary Least Squares estimation and a country fixed-effects specification.The fixed-effects model is used to verify whether the adoption gap persists after country-specific digital environments are absorbed.The results show a clear and ordered firm-size gradient.Medium-sized enterprises display substantially higher AI adoption than small enterprises, while large enterprises stand much further above the small-firm baseline.The gap remains visible within countries, suggesting that AI adoption differences cannot be reduced only to national Firm Size, Digital Skills and AI Adoption in European Enterprises: Evidence from Eurostat Data