Trust, tools, and talk: Unlocking employee creative behavior through AI communication in financial services

In the era of rapid AI adoption, organizations must communicate effectively to harness employee creativity. Drawing on componential theory of creativity, this research examines how effective AI-related communication (clarity, timeliness, accuracy) drives creative work behavior, defined as the generation of novel, useful ideas in the workplace, in the financial services and FinTech sector. We propose that AI interaction engagement, an employee's cognitive and emotional immersion in AI tools, mediates this relationship, and that an AI support environment and employee AI trust jointly strengthen the mediated pathway. Data were collected in a multi-wave design from 448 employee-supervisor pairs across four major Saudi cities and analyzed using SmartPLS. Results indicate that clear AI communication significantly enhances supervisor-rated creative behavior (β = 0.305, p < .001) and indirectly boosts creativity via engagement (β = 0.046, p < .01). Both infrastructure readiness and AI trust significantly moderate this mediated effect. These findings underscore the critical role of targeted AI messaging, immersive engagement, robust digital support, and trust in unlocking employee-driven innovation. The study's novelty lies in empirically linking AI-specific communication to creativity in a high-regulation sector. Practical recommendations include establishing AI communication protocols, designing immersive AI experiences, investing in scalable infrastructure, and fostering transparent AI governance to translate AI investments into creative outcomes.