Abstract

This study examines how artificial intelligence (AI) shapes knowledge management and, through it, the performance of selected organisations operating in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria. I set out to answer a question that kept nagging me as I watched firms in the city pour money into digital tools: does the technology actually move the needle on performance, or does something happen in between that we keep overlooking? The something, I argue, is knowledge management. Drawing on the knowledge-based view of the firm, the resource-based view and the technology acceptance model, the study treats AI as an enabling capability, knowledge management as the mediating mechanism, and organisational performance as the outcome. A cross-sectional survey design was adopted. Primary data were gathered from 384 managerial and professional staff across banking, telecommunications, oil-servicing and manufacturing organisations using a structured questionnaire, and the field survey was conducted in 2026. Data were analysed with descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation and multiple regression, supported by a mediation test. The findings show a positive and statistically significant relationship between AI capabilities and organisational performance, and a stronger relationship once knowledge management is introduced as a mediator, which tells me the value of AI is realised largely through the way it strengthens how organisations create, share and store knowledge. The study recommends that managers in Port Harcourt stop treating AI as a standalone gadget and start embedding it within deliberate knowledge management routines, backed by staff training, data governance and leadership commitment