Challenging or Threatening? The Double-Edged Sword Effect of Intelligent Technology Awareness on Accountants’ Unethical Decision-Making

Meng Bai (), He Zhang (), Junrui Zhang (), Yuhui Jiang () and Junmin Xu ()
Additional contact information
Meng Bai: Xi’an Jiaotong University
He Zhang: Xi’an Jiaotong University
Junrui Zhang: Xi’an Jiaotong University
Yuhui Jiang: Xi’an Jiaotong University
Junmin Xu: Xi’an Jiaotong University

Journal of Business Ethics, 2025, vol. 197, issue 1, No 9, 159-175

Abstract: Abstract Intelligent technology introduces both opportunities and challenges in the realm of employee ethics. While intelligent technology is widely believed to combat employee unethical behavior by enhancing transparency and reducing discretionary decisions, it may also inadvertently promote unethical conduct by triggering awareness of job substitution (i.e., intelligent technology awareness [ITA]). This study investigates how ITA affects accountants’ unethical decision-making (i.e., UDM). Drawing on the cognitive appraisal theory of stress and self-regulation theory, we theorize a double-edged sword impact of ITA on UDM. Our results suggested that ITA could be appraised either as a challenge, leading to a reduction in self-regulation depletion and subsequent UDM, or as a threat, resulting in an increase in self-regulation depletion and subsequent UDM. Further, we found that organizational support for development attenuated the relationship between ITA and threat appraisal. However, the link was more pronounced when individual adaptability was high. This study offers vital insights for managing employee unethical behavior amid an evolving trend of intelligent technology-induced job replacement.

Keywords: Intelligent technology awareness; Unethical decision-making; Appraisal process; Self-regulation depletion; Organizational support for development; Adaptability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10551-024-05768-y Abstract (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

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:kap:jbuset:v:197:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1007_s10551-024-05768-y

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.springer. ... cs/journal/10551/PS2

DOI: 10.1007/s10551-024-05768-y

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of Business Ethics is currently edited by Michelle Greenwood and R. Edward Freeman

More articles in Journal of Business Ethics from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().