Read the following passage regarding corporate strategy and technological adoption:
For over a decade, management theorists argued that enterprise adoption of artificial intelligence would immediately yield substantial operational cost savings. Initial empirical studies supported this premise, showing short-term productivity boosts in highly automated customer service departments. However, recent longitudinal analyses reveal that these initial gains were offset by rising infrastructure maintenance costs and workforce retraining expenses. Nevertheless, corporate leadership continues to expand AI budgets, operating under the assumption that long-term strategic advantages will eventually outweigh these ongoing expenditures. Ultimately, while AI adoption may not produce the immediate financial windfalls originally envisioned, its capacity to fundamentally restructure business models ensures its permanent integration into corporate strategy.
Based on the structural pivots and transition words in the passage, place the following logical stages of the author's argument trajectory in the correct order from beginning to end.
- 1Presentation of the traditional consensus and supporting initial empirical findings.
- 2Introduction of a critical pivot ('However') revealing empirical evidence that contradicts the initial premise.
- 3Observation of a persistent behavior pivot ('Nevertheless') showing ongoing leadership investment despite financial drawbacks.
- 4Final synthesis and conclusion ('Ultimately') reconciling interim costs with long-term strategic integration.