AI technology application and employee responsibility

Abstract Employees are important stakeholders of firms, and employee responsibility is a crucial dimension of corporate social responsibility. This study employed a multivariable linear regression model to analyze the impact of AI technology on the variation in employee responsibility. We also utilized multiple methods, such as propensity score matching and alternative indicator analysis, to ensure the robustness of the research results. We theorized and found that the application of AI technology has a negative effect on employee responsibility, with supervision cost partially mediating the relationship between AI technology application and employee responsibility. Moreover, the negative relationship between AI technology application and employee responsibility decreases as the level of product market competition in which the firm operates increases, and it is stronger in government-controlled firms than in privately controlled firms. We also found that AI technology application and employee responsibility can improve firm productivity, and employee responsibility has a significant positive impact on innovation output and innovation efficiency, while the application of AI technology does not significantly impact innovation output and innovation efficiency. Our study contributes to research on the impact of AI technology in the workplace and has important implications for organizational practices regarding the application of AI technology and employee responsibility.