In the AI of the Beholder—A Qualitative Study of HR Professionals’ Beliefs about AI-Based Chatbots and Decision Support in Candidate Pre-Selection

Christine Malin (), Cordula Kupfer, Jürgen Fleiß, Bettina Kubicek and Stefan Thalmann
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Christine Malin: Business Analytics and Data Science-Center, University of Graz, 8010 Graz, Austria
Cordula Kupfer: Institute of Psychology, Work and Organizational Psychology, University of Graz, 8010 Graz, Austria
Jürgen Fleiß: Business Analytics and Data Science-Center, University of Graz, 8010 Graz, Austria
Bettina Kubicek: Institute of Psychology, Work and Organizational Psychology, University of Graz, 8010 Graz, Austria
Stefan Thalmann: Business Analytics and Data Science-Center, University of Graz, 8010 Graz, Austria

Administrative Sciences, 2023, vol. 13, issue 11, 1-19

Abstract: Despite the high potential of artificial intelligence (AI), its actual adoption in recruiting is low. Explanations for this discrepancy are scarce. Hence, this paper presents an exploratory interview study investigating HR professionals’ beliefs about AI to examine their impact on use cases and barriers and to identify the reasons that lead to the non-adoption of AI in recruiting. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 25 HR professionals from 21 companies. The results revealed that HR professionals’ beliefs about AI could be categorised along two dimensions: (1) the scope of AI and (2) the definition of instruction. “Scope of Al” describes the perceived technical capabilities of AI and determines the use cases that HR professionals imagine. In contrast, the “definition of instruction” describes the perceived effort to enable an AI to take on a task and determines how HR professionals perceive barriers to Al. Our findings suggest that HR professionals’ beliefs are based on vague knowledge about AI, leading to non-adoption. Drawing on our findings, we discuss theoretical implications for the existing literature on HR and algorithm aversion and practical implications for managers, employees, and policymakers.

Keywords: artificial intelligence; recruiting; HR professionals’ beliefs about AI; use cases; barriers (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: L M M0 M1 M10 M11 M12 M14 M15 M16 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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