Exploring the double-edged sword effect of perceived organizational AI adoption on employee knowledge behaviors

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate how and under what conditions perceived organizational artificial intelligence (AI) adoption influences employees’ knowledge sharing and knowledge hiding behaviors, drawing upon transactional theory of stress and coping. Design/methodology/approach The study gathered survey data from 324 research and development employees in China across three-time points. Using SPSS 25.0 and PROCESS 3.3, the authors validated the hypotheses using path analysis and a bootstrapping-based analytical method. Findings The results suggest that the relationship between perceived organizational AI adoption and employees’ challenge or hindrance appraisals, and their subsequent knowledge behaviors, varies depending on employees’ regulatory focus. Specifically, for employees with a promotion focus, perceived organizational AI adoption tends to be associated with higher levels of challenge appraisal, which are positively related to knowledge sharing behaviors. Conversely, for those with a prevention focus, perceived organizational AI adoption is associated with hindrance appraisal, which is in turn related to knowledge hiding behaviors. Originality/value There is limited research on investigating the influence of perceived organizational AI adoption in the field of knowledge management, especially the impact on individual knowledge strategies of employees. The authors carried out this study to provide evidence of how and when perceived organizational AI adoption affects employee knowledge sharing and hiding.