Are Entrepreneurial Employees More Inclined to Accept Artificial Intelligence? An Extension of the UTAUT2

Abstract

Albeit the increased use of artificial intelligence (AI) in organizations, the understanding of how employees perceive its introduction and which factors play a role in their usage intentions and behavior is still underdeveloped. This study draws on the UTAUT2 by Venkatesh et al. (2012) to investigate AI acceptance by employees in more detail. Structural equation modeling results of a survey with employees (N = 224) reveal that age, gender, experience, and attitude towards AI show partially moderating effects for the UTAUT2 measurements. We analyze how employees’ entrepreneurial mindset influences their usage intention, as we expect entrepreneurially-minded individuals to perceive AI introduction differently. We find ambiguous results regarding entrepreneurial mindset as creativity, propensity to risk, and the perceived entrepreneurial benefits as well as attitude show moderating effects, both strengthening and weakening UTAUT2 relationships. This study contributes theoretical implications towards extending the UTAUT2 with moderators as well as practical implications for organizations.