Title
Deployment of algorithms in management tasks reduces prosocial motivation
Author
Armin Granulo
TUM School of Management, Technical University of Munich
Author
Sara Caprioli
TUM School of Management, Technical University of Munich
... show all
Abstract
Thanks to advances in artificial intelligence, firms increasingly deploy algorithms in a wide range of management tasks (e.g., evaluating workers' performance). Scholars and major political institutions have therefore called for a better understanding of the behavioral and psychological consequences of this phenomenon. In this research, we investigate how deploying algorithms in management tasks affects prosocial motivation, a crucial dimension of workplace productivity and social interactions. Across five pre-registered studies (N = 3,153, Mage = 33.96, SDage = 11.89; 51% female), including field and experimental data, we find that deploying algorithms (vs. humans) in management tasks reduces employees’ prosocial motivation (e.g., the desire to help others). We demonstrate that this negative effect (i) occurs because management by algorithms leads to greater objectification of others, (ii) also occurs when algorithms perform tasks together with human managers, and (iii) depends on the type of management task algorithms perform. These findings add another layer to the political, academic, and organizational debate on algorithmic management.
Keywords
Management by algorithmsProsocial motivationObjectificationArtificial intelligenceAlgorithmic management
Object type
Language
English [eng]
Persistent identifier
https://phaidra.univie.ac.at/o:2045029
Appeared in
Title
Computers in Human Behavior
Volume
152
ISSN
0747-5632
Issued
2024
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Date issued
2024
Access rights
Rights statement
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