Introduction:
The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) has fundamentally transformed the modern workplace, particularly in the area of human resource management. As AI systems become increasingly integrated into organizational operations, understanding how employees perceive and collaborate with AI is essential to fostering a productive and inclusive working environment.
Purpose:
This study aimed to investigate the influence of AI readiness—comprising perceived usefulness, ease of interaction, trust in AI, and threat acceptance—on the employee collaborative climate in organizations. Additionally, it examined the mediating role of human-AI collaboration in the relationship between AI readiness and collaborative climate, with Thailand serving as the contextual setting.
Method:
A quantitative approach was employed using survey data collected from 400 Thai employees across various sectors. The research instrument was a structured questionnaire measured on a five-point Likert scale. The instrument demonstrated strong internal consistency (Cronbach's α > 0.80). Data were analyzed using multiple regression and mediation analysis.
Results:
Findings revealed that all dimensions of AI readiness positively and significantly influenced both human-AI collaboration and employee collaborative climate (p < .001). Human-AI collaboration also had a significant positive impact on collaborative climate and acted as a partial mediator in the model. The indirect effect of AI readiness on collaborative climate through human-AI collaboration was statistically significant (β = .693, CI [.582, .812]), supporting the proposed mediation framework.
Conclusions:
This research highlights the importance of employees' psychological and behavioral readiness in adapting to AI-integrated environments. The results suggest that organizations should not only invest in AI infrastructure but also foster a climate that supports human-AI cooperation. Enhancing employee readiness and trust toward AI can play a crucial role in sustaining collaboration and performance in AI-driven workplaces.