Dual effects of AI-enabled job non-routinization on creativity: The moderating role of tacit knowledge awareness

Dan Zhao, Ningyu Tang, Shenyang Hai and Lijing Zhao

Journal of Business Research, 2025, vol. 198, issue C

Abstract: The application of artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled systems to the workforce has changed job content by reducing routinization and set procedures, making employee creativity increasingly essential for effective adaptation. However, our understanding of when and why employees leverage creativity in response to AI-enabled job characteristics remains limited. We identify AI-enabled job non-routinization (AI-JN) as a key new aspect of AI-enabled job characteristics by integrating the technology affordance perspective with job non-routinization literature. Additionally, we explore the influence of AI-JN on proactive and responsive creativity using the transactional theory of stress and challenge–hindrance appraisal framework. Our findings indicate that challenge appraisals of AI-JN foster proactive creativity, whereas hindrance appraisals trigger responsive creativity. We also identify tacit knowledge awareness as a moderator that amplifies challenge appraisals and attenuates hindrance appraisals of AI-JN, thereby influencing the corresponding creativity. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.

Keywords: AI-enabled job non-routinization; Proactive creativity; Responsive creativity; Challenge–hindrance appraisals; Tacit knowledge awareness (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:198:y:2025:i:c:s0148296325003054

DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115482

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