Rethinking Career Sustainability Through the Lens of AI Affordance: The Exploratory Role of Knowledge Sharing

Artificial intelligence (AI), a transformative force, has revolutionised various aspects of human life and business operations. This has led to a drastic mutation of the career landscape, embedded with vast opportunities as well as challenges, particularly concerning career sustainability (CS). Despite myriad studies on CS, the paradoxical interplay of AI and CS remains underexplored, particularly for expatriates (expats). To address the aforementioned gap, our study incorporates an affordance perspective (AFP), positioning AI as an object and CS as a user context. Specifically, this study investigates whether AI facilitates the orchestration of an enhanced sustainable career within the boundary conditions of knowledge sharing (KS), encompassing both tacit and explicit knowledge pertinent to AI, cultivated through managerial initiatives and employee-driven activities. The study conducted a quantitative survey among 490 expats working in AI-integrated environments in China. The results reveal a curvilinear (U-shaped) relationship between AI and CS, where AI affordance at a moderate level enhances career adaptability and skill development. However, digital affordances become complex beyond a certain threshold, creating several career concerns, such as job insecurity and role ambiguity. Furthermore, the moderating effect of tacit and explicit KS mitigates numerous career disruptions while fostering long-term career growth. The study framed AI as both a tool and a collaborator that illuminates the importance of AI–human intelligence (AI–HI) synergy and knowledge augmentation in navigating digital transitions. Moreover, implications for international career development and human-oriented digital transformation are also discussed.