The Intelligence Gap: Merging Explainable AI with Managerial Perception for Proactive Crisis Strategy

The increasing complexity of corporate environments necessitates a shift from reactive crisis management to proactive, AI-enhanced strategic foresight. While AI-driven predictive models have demonstrated strong accuracy in identifying financial distress, their integration into executive decision-making remains a challenge. This study bridges the intelligence gap between algorithmic precision and managerial intuition by leveraging Explainable AI (XAI) to make crisis prediction models interpretable and actionable. Using a balanced dataset of 3,000 firms, the research compares multiple innovative models, demonstrating that AI can detect latent vulnerabilities often overlooked by traditional financial analysis. Furthermore, XAI enhances transparency, allowing managers to contextualize financial risks and governance inefficiencies. The findings emphasize that AI should complement, and not replace, human decision-making, determining a shift toward intelligence-driven business resilience. However, the study also highlights limitations related to managerial AI literacy and the reluctance to adopt predictive analytics as a decision-support tool. Finally, by embedding AI within strategic workflows, this study advances both academic discourse and managerial practice, positioning AI as a transformative force in crisis anticipation and long-term corporate sustainability.