AI technology adoption and intergenerational knowledge transfer among older employees

Area of Science:

• Organizational Behavior
• Human Resource Management
• Technology Adoption

Background:

• Existing research often focuses on singular impacts of AI adoption.
• There's a need to understand the psychological mechanisms of AI's influence on older employees.
• Intergenerational knowledge transfer is crucial for organizational continuity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the impact of AI technology adoption on intergenerational knowledge transfer among older employees.
• To investigate the mediating roles of identity threat and relational crafting.
• To explore the moderating effect of digital self-efficacy.

Main Methods:

• Survey of 635 older employees in China.
• Analysis using moderated sequential mediation model and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA).
• Examined AI technology adoption, identity threat, relational crafting, digital self-efficacy, and knowledge transfer.

Main Results:

• AI technology adoption positively influences intergenerational knowledge transfer.
• Identity threat and relational crafting sequentially mediate this relationship.
• Digital self-efficacy moderates the impact of AI adoption on identity threat.

Conclusions:

• AI adoption can enhance intergenerational knowledge transfer, contrary to some negative perceptions.
• Multiple pathways influence knowledge transfer, highlighting the value of configurational analysis.
• Findings provide practical insights for developing inclusive technological strategies for older workers.