When fairness outweighs AI: empowering hotel reception employees

As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes embedded in service work, a central Human Resource Management (HRM) challenge is whether AI-enabled systems empower employees or intensify control. Drawing on Social Exchange Theory (SET) and Cognitive Evaluation Theory (CET), this study examines how organisational justice and employees’ perceived personal utility of AI shape psychological empowerment and organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB) among 355 hotel front-desk and reception employees in Vietnam. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling results show that organisational justice enhances psychological empowerment and positively shapes evaluations of AI utility, while psychological empowerment predicts citizenship behaviour. In contrast, perceived AI utility does not directly increase empowerment. The findings suggest that positive employee outcomes in AI-enabled service work depend less on perceived AI utility alone and more on fair, transparent, and supportive HRM practices. This study advances a human-centred view of AI-enabled service work and offers implications for responsible AI implementation in service industries.