Reducing the adverse effects of compulsory citizenship behaviour on employee innovative behaviour via AI usage in China

Artificial intelligence (AI) plays a crucial role in the workplace by freeing up the hands and brains of employees. According to affective events theory (AET), this research assumes that AI can mitigate the negative effects of compulsory citizenship behaviour (CCB). From a mixed-method study involving both a survey (targeting 246 Chinese employees) and interviews (with a further 20 employees from China), results indicate that CCB can increase employees’ anger and hostility and ultimately negatively affect employees’ innovative behaviour. However, AI usage is shown to have the capacity to mitigate such adverse effects. This research offers both theoretical and practical insights for CCB research.