The double-edged sword effect of AI awareness on employee radical creativity and procrastination: roles of replacement anxiety and learning anxiety

Purpose With the rapid penetration of artificial intelligence (AI) across various industries, employees are increasingly facing cognitive and emotional challenges induced by AI, particularly rising anxiety regarding job security and skill adaptability. This study examines how AI awareness exerts mixed effects on employee radical creativity and procrastination, mediated by job replacement anxiety and learning anxiety. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on a five-month field survey of 329 bank employees in China, this study employs a latent moderated structural equation model (LSM) to test the proposed hypotheses. It further uses fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to explore the complex causal mechanisms by which AI awareness influences employee radical creativity and procrastination. Findings Our results show that job replacement anxiety mediated the positive effect of AI awareness on employee radical creativity, while learning anxiety mediated the negative effect of AI awareness on employee radical creativity and its positive effect on employee procrastination. Furthermore, a sense of power mitigated the effect of AI awareness on learning anxiety; however, it did not moderate the effect of AI awareness on job replacement anxiety. Through fsQCA, this study further identifies multiple combined pathways through which AI awareness, forms of AI anxiety, and sense of power shape employee radical creativity and procrastination, thereby providing a complementary explanation for the hypotheses not supported by the LSM results. Originality/value This study distinguishes job replacement anxiety and learning anxiety as distinct mechanisms through which AI awareness affects employee radical creativity and procrastination, clarifying how AI-induced negative emotions can generate both maladaptive and adaptive outcomes. It also provides managerial guidance for fostering effective coping strategies during AI implementation.