Will Employee–AI Collaboration Enhance Employees’ Proactive Behavior? A Study Based on the Conservation of Resources Theory

Sun, Chenxi; Zhao, Xinan; Guo, Baorong; Chen, Ningning

doi:10.3390/bs15050648

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Open AccessArticle

Will Employee–AI Collaboration Enhance Employees’ Proactive Behavior? A Study Based on the Conservation of Resources Theory

by

Chenxi Sun

¹,

Xinan Zhao

¹,

Baorong Guo

^2,* and

Ningning Chen

¹

School of Business Administration, Northeastern University, Shenyang 110167, China

²

Business School, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin 541006, China

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Behav. Sci. 2025, 15(5), 648; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15050648

Submission received: 25 March 2025 / Revised: 5 May 2025 / Accepted: 7 May 2025 / Published: 9 May 2025

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Employee Behavior on Digital-AI Transformation)

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Abstract

This study explores how employee–AI collaboration can promote employees’ proactive behavior by reducing their workload, and examines the mediating role of workload and the moderating effect of AI literacy. Based on a survey of employees across multiple industries, the study finds that employee–AI collaboration significantly reduces employees’ workload, which in turn encourages more proactive behavior. In this process, workload serves as a central mediating mechanism, as it helps alleviate task pressure and frees up cognitive resources, enabling employees to take on additional responsibilities and put forward innovative suggestions. Furthermore, with increasing levels of employee–AI collaboration, employees with higher AI literacy tend to experience greater workload relief, while those with lower literacy demonstrate a stronger and more consistent proactive behavioral response. These findings offer theoretical insight into employee–AI interaction and practical implications for enhancing initiative and innovation through effective AI integration.

Keywords: employee–AI collaboration; proactive behavior; workload; AI literacy

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MDPI and ACS Style

Sun, C.; Zhao, X.; Guo, B.; Chen, N. Will Employee–AI Collaboration Enhance Employees’ Proactive Behavior? A Study Based on the Conservation of Resources Theory. Behav. Sci. 2025, 15, 648. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15050648

AMA Style

Sun C, Zhao X, Guo B, Chen N. Will Employee–AI Collaboration Enhance Employees’ Proactive Behavior? A Study Based on the Conservation of Resources Theory. Behavioral Sciences. 2025; 15(5):648. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15050648

Chicago/Turabian Style

Sun, Chenxi, Xinan Zhao, Baorong Guo, and Ningning Chen. 2025. "Will Employee–AI Collaboration Enhance Employees’ Proactive Behavior? A Study Based on the Conservation of Resources Theory" Behavioral Sciences 15, no. 5: 648. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15050648

APA Style

Sun, C., Zhao, X., Guo, B., & Chen, N. (2025). Will Employee–AI Collaboration Enhance Employees’ Proactive Behavior? A Study Based on the Conservation of Resources Theory. Behavioral Sciences, 15(5), 648. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15050648

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

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Will Employee–AI Collaboration Enhance Employees’ Proactive Behavior? A Study Based on the Conservation of Resources Theory

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