Managing Generative AI Innovation: The Impact of Proactive Personality and LMX on Work Outcomes

This study uses leader-member exchange (LMX) theory to examine the interplay between proactive personality, LMX, generative AI innovation (GenAI innovation), and affective employee perceptions. Data collected from 378 working adults were tested with mediated-moderation analyses to examine the extent to which the relationship between proactive personality and employee perceptions varied as a function of LMX while working through GenAI innovation. The results indicated that LMX positively moderated (i.e., strengthened) the relationship between proactive personality and GenAI innovation. Furthermore, GenAI innovation mediated the relationship between the interaction (i.e., proactive personality X LMX) and three affective perceptions, namely organizational commitment, job satisfaction, and turnover intentions. Support for this mediated-moderation model empirically validates the interactive influence between individual characteristics and relational factors in the organizational environment. These findings pose beneficial managerial and conceptual insights to improve organizational performance by facilitating innovation and retaining engaged employees.