According to PwC’s 2026 AI business predictions, tech innovation continues to be a driver of business strategy, operations, workforce design and even sustainability. As the report notes, “success is becoming visible,” with companies embedding AI deeply across workflows, governance

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nd culture. Researchers say HR leaders in small and medium-sized businesses can take advantage of emerging innovations much like large enterprises do. In many ways, smaller companies may be better positi

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ned to act. Upwork research shows that confidence among SMB leaders rose and fell more sharply than it did for leaders of larger organizations, dropping from 59% in the first quarter