Managers in the Middle of the AI Shift : A Qualitative Study of Managerial Roles in the Early-Stages of AI Agent Technology Implementation

Sammanfattning

The increased implementation of AI agent technologies is reshaping organizational processes, however little is known about how managers facilitate change in the early stages of implementation. This study aims to explore how managers can assist in the facilitation of change in the early stages of AI agent implementation. The theories used in this research are based on previous studies and literature regarding both AI and change management. From the analysis of the literature, the authors found a research gap in the current state of knowledge, leading to the formulation of the research question. This research follows the abductive qualitative research approach. The data collection method involved interviewing the managers at Beta and Delta via Microsoft Teams who have knowledge about working with AI. The use of semi-structured interviews was chosen to allow participants more flexibility in sharing their perspectives. Thematic analysis was applied to analyze the data collected due to its appropriateness when dealing with massive amounts of data and gives more flexibility. The insights gathered from this analysis enabledthe authors to identify relevant information that would be used to answer the research question. The empirical findings used in this thesis came from interviews that were analyzed and compared to other sources to enable the researchers to answer the research question. The findings of this research have indicated that managers have a key role in both sensemaking and sense giving processes by clarifying purpose, facilitating dialogue, and managing uncertainty. Clear communication and structured planning were found to reduce resistance, while a lack of clarity increased ambiguity and hesitation. The successful introduction of AI agents is an organizational rather than a technical challenge, according to this research, which identified three main factors that contribute to employee acceptance and commitment to a new technology. Managers need to act as early users of new technology, their visible use of the new technology gives employees signals about the legitimacy of that technology, which in turn lowers resistance to its use. Second, transparent and continuous communication is important to understand how the new technology will affect their jobs. Therefore, it is necessary that managers and organizations create a culture of sensemaking and confidence in order to help employees through the transition. Third, providing employees with a clearly defined purpose, combined with structure, will give employees a greater sense of control and predictability regarding the new technology, thus facilitating their adoption of it. Collectively, the research indicates that AI agent adoption succeeds when the use of leaders, open communication, and carefulplanning are treated as equally important as the technology itself. This thesis theoretically contributes to preexisting change management models, sensemaking theory, sense giving theory, and digital transformation theory.