Impacts of Organizational Responses to AI Induced Workforce Transformation on IT Professionals’ Attitudes in SMEs

Abstract

This study is designed to explore the relationship between perceived AI-induced workforce transformation and IT professionals' attitudes towards the use of AI in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the United States, with the mediating role of perceived ease of use and AI use anxiety. The research design used was a quantitative, non-experimental, cross-sectional survey with respondents comprising 252 IT professionals from U.S. SMEs impacted by AI-related changes in the workplace. The direct and indirect associations were evaluated by partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) and 5,000 bootstrap replications. The results indicate that perceived workforce transformation due to AI positively influences attitudes toward AI use (β = 0.185, p = 0.001) and perceived ease of use (β = 0.656, p < 0.001). In addition, perceived ease of use is a significant mediator of this relationship (β = 0.254, p < 0.001). The use of AI anxiety also indirectly associates with a significant value of β = 0.195, p < 0.001, but in the opposite direction to the hypothesised negative mediation. The model accounts for 61.5% of the variance in attitudes towards AI. Overall, the results emphasise the need for organisational support, usability, and the reactions of employees to the implementation of AI.