The Impact of Employee-AI Collaboration on Innovative Behavior: The MediatingRole of Work Meaningfulness and the Moderating Effect of Conscientiousness
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.66438/skh.dssr.v2i4.92Keywords:
employee-AI collaboration, innovative behavior, work meaningfulnessAbstract
As generative artificial intelligence becomes increasingly widespread in the workplace, how employee-AI collaboration affects innovative behavior has attracted growing attention. Integrating conservation of resources theory and sensemaking theory, this study constructs a moderated mediation model. Based on an analysis of three-wave time-lagged survey data from 382 employed individuals, the results indicate that employee-AI collaboration has a significant positive effect on innovative behavior; work meaningfulness partially mediates the relationship between the two; and the moderating effect of conscientiousness on the relationship between employee-AI collaboration and work meaningfulness is in the expected direction but only marginally statistically significant. This study reveals the psychological pathway through which employee-AI collaboration influences innovative behavior, providing a theoretical reference for organizations to promote AI adoption and stimulate employee innovation.
References
高中华, 张恒。领导 AI 符号化与 AI 驱动员工创新行为：一个有调节的双中介模型[J]. 科技进步与对策, 2025, 42(21): 151-160.
史青, 周苗苗。创新的新动力：智能时代人机关系驱动员工创新行为的影响研究[J]. 西部经济管理论坛, 2024, 35(2): 43-53.
张守刚, 刘贤烨, 沈鹏熠。AI-员工协作对员工工作绩效的影响机理研究[J]. 中央财经大学学报, 2026, (1): 145-160.
Allan, B. A., Batz-Barbarich, C., Sterling, H. M., & Tay, L. Outcomes of meaningful work: A meta-analysis[J]. Journal of Management Studies, 2018, 55(3): 500-528.
Bunderson, J. S., & Thompson, J. A. The call of the wild: Zookeepers, callings, and the double-edged sword of deeply meaningful work[J]. Administrative Science Quarterly, 2009, 54(1):32-57.
Cai, W., Lysova, E. I., Khapova, S. N., & Bossink, B. A. G. Servant leadership and innovative work behavior in Chinese high-tech firms: A moderated mediation model[J]. Frontiers in Psychology, 2018, 9: 1767.
Callari, T. C., & Puppione, L. Meaningful work as shaped by employee work practices in human-AI collaborative environments: A qualitative exploration through ideal types[J]. European Journal of Innovation Management, 2025, 28(10): 5001-5027.
Dell'Acqua, F., Ayoubi, C., Lifshitz-Assaf, H., Sadun, R., Mollick, E., et al. The cybernetic teammate: A field experiment on generative AI reshaping teamwork and expertise[R]. Harvard Business School Working Paper No. 25-043, 2025.
Fukuzaki, T., & Iwata, N. The moderating role of the five-factor model of personality in the relationship between job demands/resources and work engagement[J]. Behavioral Sciences, 2024, 14(10): 936. Hobfoll, S. E. Conservation of resources: A new attempt at conceptualizing stress[J]. American Psychologist, 1989, 44(3): 513-524.
Hobfoll, S. E. The influence of culture, community, and the nested-self in the stress process[J]. Applied Psychology, 2001, 50(3): 337-421.
Janssen, O. Job demands, perceptions of effort-reward fairness and innovative work behaviour[J]. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 2000, 73(3): 287-302.
Ju, H., & Aral, S. Collaborating with AI agents: Field experiments on teamwork, productivity, and performance[J]. arXiv Preprint, 2025, arXiv:2503.18238.
Kong, H., Yin, Z., Baruch, Y., & Yuan, Y. The impact of trust in AI on career sustainability: The role of employee–AI collaboration[J]. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 2023, 146: 103928.
Liang, K., Lin, S., Liu, J., & Zhu, Y. Unlock the innovation potential of meaning of work: An empirical study of scientific and technological workers in China[J]. Frontiers in Psychology, 2022, 13: 870318. Maitlis, S., & Christianson, M. Sensemaking in organizations: Taking stock and moving forward[J]. Academy of Management Annals, 2014, 8(1): 57-125.
McCrae, R. R., & Costa, P. T. Personality in adulthood: A five-factor theory perspective[M]. New York: Guilford Press, 1987.
Ng, T. W. H., & Lucianetti, L. Within-individual increases in innovative behavior: A social–cognitive theory perspective[J]. Journal of Applied Psychology, 2016, 101(1): 14-34.
Pathki, C. S., Kluemper, D. H., Meuser, J. D., & McLarty, B. D. The org-B5: Development of a short work frame-of-reference measure of the big five[J]. Journal of Management, 2022, 48(5): 1299-1337. Rosso, B. D., Dekas, K. H., & Wrzesniewski, A. On the meaning of work: A theoretical integration and review[J]. Research in Organizational Behavior, 2010, 30: 91-127.
Scott, S. G., & Bruce, R. A. Determinants of innovative behavior: A path model of individual innovation in the workplace[J]. Academy of Management Journal, 1994, 37(3): 580-607.
Sun, L., Hu, R., & Su, H. Unlocking human potential in the AI age: How employee-AI collaboration transforms work engagement through dual psychological pathways[J]. Frontiers in Psychology, 2025, 16: 1705671.
Weick, K. E., Sutcliffe, K. M., & Obstfeld, D. Organizing and the process of sensemaking[J]. Organization Science, 2005, 16(4): 409-421.
Zhu, H., Jia, F., Zhang, Y., & Wang, R. The relationship between the Big Five personality model and innovation behavior: A three-level meta-analysis[J]. Behavioral Sciences, 2025, 15(9): 1143.
