Role uncertainty in AI-enabled organizational change: linking perceived AI adoption to job stress

Purpose This study examines the employee-side implications of perceived organizational artificial intelligence (AI) adoption by focusing on role-related uncertainty. In this study, perceived organizational AI adoption refers to employees’ perceptions of the extent to which their organization has implemented and integrated AI technologies into its work processes. Drawing on role theory, it investigates whether perceived organizational AI adoption is associated with job stress through role ambiguity and whether change communication weakens this indirect association. Design/methodology/approach The hypotheses were tested using three-wave survey data collected from 355 employees working in Japanese organizations that had adopted AI technologies in their work processes. Perceived organizational AI adoption and change communication were measured at Time 1, role ambiguity at Time 2, and job stress at Time 3, with four-week intervals between waves. The hypotheses were examined using confirmatory factor analyses, hierarchical regression analyses, and bias-corrected bootstrapping procedures. Findings Perceived organizational AI adoption was positively associated with role ambiguity, which in turn was positively associated with job stress. Change communication moderated the association between perceived organizational AI adoption and role ambiguity, such that the association was weaker at higher levels of change communication. The conditional indirect association between perceived organizational AI adoption and job stress through role ambiguity likewise became weaker as change communication increased. Originality/value This study advances research on AI-enabled organizational change by highlighting role ambiguity as an employee-level mechanism linking perceived AI adoption with job stress. It provides a contextual extension of role theory by showing its relevance in work settings where task ownership, decision authority, accountability, and performance expectations may become less clear as AI is integrated into work processes. The study further identifies general change communication as an informational context associated with a weaker relationship between perceived AI adoption and role ambiguity.