Frontline employees in an AI-integrated workplace: current perspectives and future research landscapes

Purpose This study aims to systematically review frontline employees’ (FLE) psychological responses to the artificial intelligence (AI) integration literature, conduct an extensive analysis and develop a conceptual framework that consolidates diverse approaches to this research domain. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a comprehensive systematic literature review (SLR) approach. Using keywords, 21 structured search combinations were established and 76 articles were selected using the PRISMA process. Additionally, the study uses the theory-context-characteristics-methodology (TCCM) framework and proposes a conceptual framework leveraging cognitive appraisal (CA) and conservation of resource (COR) theories. Findings The resulting framework reveals how CA and emotion relate to AI and FLE capabilities, leading to AI adoption, turnover intention and FLE performance. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to comprehensively analyze FLE psychological responses to AI integration using an SLR approach, proposing a conceptual framework by consolidating existing knowledge and classifying FLE psychological responses to AI integration across industries and leveraging CA and COR theories, providing future research directions, thus filling a gap in previous research.