Managers' personality traits and AI transformation: the mediating role of AI leadership capability

Purpose This study has three main objectives. First, it investigates whether managers' Big Five personality traits are associated with their AI leadership capabilities. Second, it examines the influence of AI leadership capability on AI transformation. Third, it studies the mediating role of AI leadership capability in the relationship between managers' personality traits and AI transformation. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from information technology (IT) managers using criterion-based purposive and snowball sampling techniques. AI leadership capability and AI transformation constructs were adapted from existing scales and validated through expert review and pilot testing. A total of 184 responses were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) via SmartPLS 4.0. Findings Findings indicate that managers' agreeableness and conscientiousness enhance AI leadership capability, whereas neuroticism undermines it. AI leadership capability, in turn, drives AI transformation and mediates these trait effects. In contrast, openness and extraversion do not exert any direct or indirect influence, suggesting that social energy and intellectual curiosity alone may be insufficient to shape AI leadership in organizational settings. Originality/value The present study offers four novel contributions. First, it adapts and validates scales for AI leadership capability and AI transformation. Second, it examines the interrelationships between the Big Five personality traits, AI leadership capability and AI transformation – an area not yet explored in the existing literature. Third, it focuses specifically on managers, thereby extending a research stream that has primarily emphasized employees. Lastly, the nonsignificant effects of openness and extraversion on AI leadership capability provide distinctive insights that challenge established assumptions in the leadership literature.