How the cross-level interaction of AI awareness and digital transformational leadership can prompt tourism and hospitality employees’ service performance

Artificial intelligence (AI) adoption in tourism and hospitality enhances efficiency but threatens employees’ jobs. Investigating employees’ AI awareness and adaptation to boost service performance is crucial for tourism and hospitality companies. We attempt to address the research questions: How does AI awareness affect tourism and hospitality employees’ service performance through individual unlearning process? How can digital transformational leadership moderate such process? Drawing on learning theory and the concept of unlearning, we argue that employees with AI awareness tend to engage in individual unlearning process, which improves service performance. Furthermore, high rather than low level of digital transformational leadership reinforces this link. We conducted a cross-lagged, three-wave survey (multi-level and multi-source designs) involving 702 employees and 138 supervisors in tourism companies. Conceptual model analysis was carried out using Mplus. The results reveal that AI awareness influences employees’ service performance through individual unlearning. Additionally, the cross-level moderating role of digital transformational leadership in this relationship was also examined. In particular, when the level of digital transformational leadership is high (vs. low), the positive effect of AI awareness on individual unlearning is more pronounced. This research contributes theoretically and practically for firms and employees to cope with the evolving AI in the workplace.