This paper examines the effects of generative artificial intelligence (AI) on employees’ creativity. While prior scholars generally theorized that generative AI as a powerful tool facilitates individual creativity, we contest that this assumption is overly simplistic and optimistic. Drawing upon the theories of the creative process, we develop a research model that illustrates both the positive and negative impacts of generative AI usage on employees’ creativity. We validate the model with data from a multi-source, three-wave field survey. Specifically, we found that generative AI fosters employees’ creativity through its positive effect on absorptive capacity. However, generative AI usage hampers employees’ creativity through its negative effect on their cognitive elaboration. We also found that interpersonal interaction neutralizes the negative impact of generative AI on cognitive elaboration, highlighting the crucial complementary role of human-human interaction in the context of human-machine interaction. Theoretical and practical implications specific to the impact of generative AI on employee creativity are discussed.
