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. 2025 May 21:16:1573587.
doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1573587. eCollection 2025.

How and when artificial intelligence adoption promotes employee knowledge sharing? The role of paradoxical leadership and technophilia

Xiaoyue Hu  1 , Hongyan Gao  1 , Tesfaye Agafari  1 , Minnie Qing Zhang  1 , Rong Cong  1
Affiliations

How and when artificial intelligence adoption promotes employee knowledge sharing? The role of paradoxical leadership and technophilia

Xiaoyue Hu et al. Front Psychol. .

Abstract

Introduction: The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into workplaces has transformed organizational operations, yet its impact on employee knowledge sharing remains underexplored. While AI adoption enhances learning and collaboration, the extent to which employees engage in knowledge sharing depends on leadership styles and attitudes toward technology. This study investigates how AI adoption promotes knowledge sharing through employee learning opportunities, while considering the moderating roles of paradoxical leadership and technophilia.

Methods: A survey was conducted with 364 employees across various organizations to examine the proposed relationships. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to test the mediation effect of learning opportunities and the moderating effects of paradoxical leadership and technophilia.

Results: The findings reveal that AI adoption positively influences employee knowledge sharing, with learning opportunities serving as a key mediating factor. Furthermore, paradoxical leadership and technophilia amplify this relationship, indicating that employees with a strong affinity for technology and those working under paradoxical leaders are more likely to leverage AI for knowledge sharing.

Discussion: These results provide important implications for organizations seeking to maximize the benefits of AI adoption. Managers should foster a paradoxical leadership style and support employees in developing a positive attitude toward technology to enhance knowledge-sharing behaviors. Future research should explore additional contextual factors influencing AI-driven knowledge sharing.

Keywords: artificial intelligence adoption; employee knowledge sharing; employee learning opportunities; paradoxical leadership; technophilia.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Theoretical model.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The moderating effect of paradoxical leadership on the relationship between artificial intelligence adoption and employee learning opportunities.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The moderating effect of technophilia on the relationship between artificial intelligence adoption and employee learning opportunities.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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