Adoption of AI partners in temporary tasks: exploring the effects of emotion on collaboration proficiency

Purpose Whilst the use of artificial intelligence (AI) partners in the workplace has become more pervasive in recent years, the effects of teamwork partner type (human vs AI) on collaboration proficiency, especially for temporary tasks, remain unclear. Based on the computers are social actors (CASA) paradigm, we identify the mechanism to explain how partner type and partners' emotion influence collaboration proficiency when dealing with temporary tasks. Design/methodology/approach Through an online experiment, hypotheses were examined using data collected from 861 employees working in the online retail industry. Findings The results indicate that the type of teamwork partner does not significantly influence collaboration proficiency. However, emotion plays a significant moderating role in the relationship between partner type and collaboration proficiency. Additionally, several mediation effects are identified. Specifically, teamwork partner type moderates the effect of service empathy on collaboration proficiency whilst service empathy mediates the association between emotion and collaboration proficiency. Originality/value This study is the first to reveal, from the employee's perspective, the outcomes of human–human and human–AI collaborations when dealing with temporary tasks in a virtual context. These findings can empower managers to more effectively select and pair teamwork partners, while also creating work environments that are more attuned to and supportive of emotional dynamics.