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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Organ. Psychol.
Sec. Performance and Development
Volume 2 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/forgp.2024.1468907

Acceptance and Motivational Effect of AI-Driven Feedback in the Workplace: An Experimental Study With Direct Replication

Provisionally accepted
Ilka Hein Ilka Hein 1*Julia Cecil Julia Cecil 1Eva Lermer Eva Lermer 1,2
  • 1 Department of Psychology, Ludwig Maximilian University Munich, Munich, Germany
  • 2 Department of Business Psychology, Technical University of Applied Sciences Augsburg, Munich, Bavaria, Germany

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly taking over leadership tasks in companies, including the provision of feedback. However, the effect of AI-driven feedback on employees and its theoretical foundations are poorly understood. We aimed to close this research gap by comparing perceptions of AI and human feedback based on construal level theory and the feedback process model. Using these theories, our objective was also to investigate the moderating role of feedback valence and the mediating effect of social distance. A 2 x 2 between-subjects design was applied to manipulate feedback source (human vs. AI) and valence (negative vs. positive) via vignettes. In a preregistered experimental study (S1) and subsequent direct replication (S2), responses from NS1 = 263 and NS2 = 449 participants were studied who completed a German online questionnaire asking for feedback acceptance, performance motivation, social distance, acceptance of the feedback source itself, and intention to seek further feedback. Regression analyses showed that AI feedback was rated as less accurate and led to lower performance motivation, acceptance of the feedback provider, and intention to seek further feedback. These effects were mediated by perceived social distance. Moreover, for feedback acceptance and performance motivation, the differences were only found for positive but not for negative feedback in the first study. This implies that AI feedback may not inherently be perceived as more negatively than human feedback as it depends on the feedback's valence. Furthermore, the mediation effects indicate that the shown negative evaluations of the AI can be explained by higher social distance and that increased social closeness to feedback providers may improve appraisals of them and of their feedback. Theoretical contributions of the studies and implications for the use of AI for providing feedback in the workplace are discussed, emphasizing the influence of effects related to construal level theory.

    Keywords: artificial intelligence, Leadership, Automated leadership, Feedback, Construal-level theory, feedback process model

    Received: 20 Aug 2024; Accepted: 06 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Hein, Cecil and Lermer. 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: Ilka Hein, Department of Psychology, Ludwig Maximilian University Munich, Munich, Germany

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.