14009: The Negative Impact of Organizational AI Adoption on Knowledge Sharing Among Older Employees (session 25645)

Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology has changed the way of knowledge transfer and accumulation within organizations, and has a significant impact on organizational knowledge management. This study challenges the prevailing consensus that organizational AI adoption always benefits organizational knowledge management, by highlighting its negative impact on knowledge sharing within older employees. Based on status competition theory, this paper explores the mediating role of fear of status loss and the moderating role of competitive climate in the relationship between organizational AI adoption and older employee knowledge sharing. Through a three-wave survey (N = 208), we found that organizational AI adoption reduces order employee knowledge sharing by increasing their fear of status loss. Moreover, the competitive climate aggravates the negative effect of organizational AI adoption on order employee knowledge sharing through fear of status loss, such that this indirect effect is stronger when competitive climate is higher. This study highlights that while the benefits of organizational AI adoption should be acknowledged, its negative impact on older employee knowledge sharing should not be overlooked. Moreover, reducing the competitive climate within organizations can help mitigate this negative effect.

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