Artificial Intelligence in Open Innovation and Project Management: A Systematic Literature Review of Technologies, Applications, and Future Research Directions
Published 2026-07-14
Keywords
- Artificial Intelligence,
- Open Innovation,
- Project Management,
- Generative AI,
- Machine Learning
- Bibliometric Analysis,
- Systematic Literature Review,
- Innovation Management ...More
Copyright (c) 2026 Sushil Kumar Sahoo, Bibhuti Bhusan Choudhury, Prasant Ranjan Dhal, Supriya Sahu, Sudhakar Majhi, Ipsita Dhar (Author)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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Abstract
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is reshaping open innovation and project management by enhancing knowledge discovery, collaborative innovation, intelligent decision-making, and project execution. Despite the rapid growth of research in these domains, existing studies remain fragmented and lack a comprehensive synthesis of AI technologies, applications, and emerging research directions. This study systematically reviews the evolution of AI-driven open innovation and project management research through a systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis of publications from 2000 to 2026. Relevant studies were identified following the PRISMA guidelines and analyzed using bibliometric and thematic analysis techniques. The findings reveal a significant increase in research activity, particularly since 2018, driven by advances in machine learning, natural language processing, predictive analytics, and generative AI. AI applications are primarily concentrated in idea generation, knowledge management, crowdsourcing, project planning, risk assessment, resource optimization, and decision support. Furthermore, the review identifies major research themes, emerging trends, and critical gaps related to explainable AI, human–AI collaboration, governance, and sustainability. Finally, a conceptual framework and a future research agenda are proposed to facilitate the development of intelligent, resilient, and sustainable innovation and project management ecosystems.
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