Embracing artificial intelligence (AI) with job crafting: Exploring trickle-down effect and employees’ outcomes

The wide application of AI in the service industry has dramatically changed job tasks and required knowledge. It becomes more urgent and necessary to craft their job proactively to cope with the changes. However, we have limited knowledge about how and why some employees craft their jobs to adjust to AI and whether it works. Integrating the AI literature with the job crafting literature, we introduce the construct of AI crafting as a domain-specific kind of job crafting and investigate its outcomes and antecedents. Using a three-wave, multi-source field study, we adopted multilevel path modeling to analyze the data. Results revealed that leader AI crafting was positively related to employee AI crafting, which in turn positively related to employee AI engagement and AI helping. Furthermore, employee-attributed performance enhancement/impression management motives enhanced/attenuated the indirect effects. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of the findings and propose future research directions.