The Association Between Artificial Intelligence Anxiety and Organisation-Based Self-Esteem in Norwegian and Swedish ​​Accountants, Auditors and Payroll Clerks: A Cross-Sectional Study

Sammanfattning

Artificial intelligence (AI) applications change the labour market for human workers. To establish if the applications are determined positive or not, they must be researched in a specified field. One field that is affected by AI applications is the field of economics. In this study, the anxiety towards AI and organisation-based self-esteem (OBSE) in (N = 79) accountants, auditors, and payroll clerks in Norway and Sweden was investigated. The statistical tests used were a correlation Matrix (Pearson’s r and Spearman’s rho) and one-way ANOVA, applying post-hoc Games-Howell test. Findings showed high OBSE and relatively low anxiety towards AI (AIAS) in the sample. There was a weak but significant relationship between OBSE and socio-technical blindness, but not the total mean AIAS or other dimensions of the scale. The mean learning anxiety and the mean AI configuration anxiety of the group with high AI experience was significantly lower than that of the group with low and moderately AI-experiences, for both sub-dimensions of AIAS. When evaluating participants' characteristics, the study found no significant difference between gender, age, education level, organisation tenure, or type of sector. However, participants who believed that work content may be replaced by AI had significantly higher organisation-based self-esteem than participants who did not. The current study includes cultural and contextual additions to the topic of AI anxiety and organisation-based self-esteem. Limitations and future research were discussed.