Hybrid Business Decisions: Does Task Complexity Uplift Delegation to Artificial Intelligence?

Suely Fischer Omura and Eduardo de Rezende Francisco

RAC - Revista de Administração Contemporânea (Journal of Contemporary Administration), 2025, vol. 29(6), issue Vol. 29 No. 6 (2025): Nov/Dec - 2025 (Special Issue), e250032

Abstract: Objective: to investigate the effect of the complexity of a hybrid task — hiring people — on the intention to delegate decisions to AI, mediated by motivation for cognitive effort, and to unravel potential pro- and anti-delegation drivers. Theoretical approach: typology of complex tasks and cognitive reasoning literature. Method: we conducted two empirical studies in which task complexity was manipulated on a between-subject basis (low vs. high) to collect perceptive data from 320 U.S. decision-makers. Result: both studies revealed a significant direct and total effect of task complexity on the intention to delegate decisions to AI, but no significant mediating effect. Our thematic analysis showed a preference for humans making the final decision, with AI playing a supportive role, and revealed that, in a hiring context, low complexity leads to self-choices driven by individual factors, whereas high complexity triggers delegation, stimulated by AI’s technical capabilities. Conclusions: our findings represent a theoretical increment in decision sciences, delegation, and task taxonomy by offering insights into how delegation occurs from humans to nonhuman artifacts in a hybrid task context, and by disclosing potential pro- and anti-delegation drivers. We also draw attention to possible over- and under-delegation behaviors that, when combined with other AI-driven decision-making challenges, can undermine gains from AI and impair the attainment of some Sustainable Development Goals, unless properly managed to mitigate the risks.

Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://rac.anpad.org.br/index.php/rac/article/view/1726 (text/html)
https://rac.anpad.org.br/index.php/rac/article/view/1726/2201 (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:abg:anprac:v:29:y:2025:i:6:1726

Access Statistics for this article

RAC - Revista de Administração Contemporânea (Journal of Contemporary Administration) is currently edited by Marcelo de Souza Bispo

More articles in RAC - Revista de Administração Contemporânea (Journal of Contemporary Administration) from ANPAD - Associação Nacional de Pós-Graduação e Pesquisa em Administração
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Information Technology of ANPAD ().