ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Organizational Psychology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1612245
This article is part of the Research TopicThe Impact of Intelligent Technologies on the Future of Work: Challenges and Opportunities for Individuals, Organizations, and SocietyView all 3 articles
When Digital-AI Transformation Sparks Adaptation: Job Crafting and AI Knowledge in Job Insecurity Contexts
Provisionally accepted
- 1Guangxi Eco-engineering Vocational and Technical College, Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang Region, China
- 2Guangxi University of Science and Technology, Liuzhou, Guangxi Zhuang Region, China
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As AI technology continues to rise, numerous studies have explored its impact on employee behavior. However, little is known about employees' responses to the integration of AI in the digital transformation process. Drawing on Conservation of Resources Theory, this study aims to examine the impact of digital-AI transformation on employees' job crafting behaviors, focusing on the mediating role of job insecurity and the moderating effect of AI knowledge.A two-wave survey was conducted among 400 employees actively using AI tools in digitally transforming organizations, resulting in 370 valid responses. Data were analyzed using SPSS 22.0 and the PROCESS macro (version 3.3) to test the proposed hypotheses.The results indicate that digital-AI transformation has a significant positive effect on employees' job crafting (β = 0.512, p < 0.001), with job insecurity serving as a mediator in this relationship (β = 0.228, p < 0.001). Employees ' AI knowledge not only moderates the positive effect of digital-AI transformation on job crafting (β = 0.060, p < 0.05), but also moderates the mediating role of job insecurity in the relationship between digital-AI transformation and job crafting (β = 0.143, p < 0.001).Discussion: This study extends the application of Conservation of Resources Theory by emphasizing the potentially positive role of job insecurity under specific contextual conditions, while also offering a critical reflection on the ethical implications of using job insecurity as a motivational tool. It is suggested that organizations should leverage employees' AI knowledge to enhance job crafting, rather than relying on stress as a driver. Future research is encouraged to explore additional antecedents of job crafting.
Keywords: Digital-AI transformation, Job Insecurity, Job crafting, AI knowledge, Conservation of resources theory
Received: 15 Apr 2025; Accepted: 04 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Chengcheng and Chai. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Sha Chengcheng, Guangxi Eco-engineering Vocational and Technical College, Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang Region, China
Tianlong Chai, Guangxi University of Science and Technology, Liuzhou, 545026, Guangxi Zhuang Region, China
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