Chatbot – friend or foe? Investigating employee adaptation to HR chatbots within a professional services firm in Ireland

Stanley, Laura (2022) Chatbot – friend or foe? Investigating employee adaptation to HR chatbots within a professional services firm in Ireland. Masters thesis, Dublin, National College of Ireland.

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Abstract

The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Human Resources (HR) has been steadily increasing in recent years bringing fundamental change to the way in which organisations work. A key component of AI, and the focus of this study, is artificially intelligent chatbots. While research in this area is extensive among other countries across the world, there is a dearth of research on adaptation to chatbots, their benefits, and risks in Ireland which is why it is imperative further research is carried out in this area.

This study aims to investigate employee adaptation to chatbots. It hopes to develop an understanding of the influences on employee adaptation, and why employees may or may not be inclined to use chatbots to address their HR concerns. It also aims to explore the benefits and understand the risks associated with using chatbots, to both the employee and the organisation, within a professional services firm in Ireland. The aim of this research is to contribute to the chatbot literature from an Irish perspective and attempt to apply previous literature here.

A qualitative methodology approach was applied to this study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten HR professionals from a professional services firm in Ireland where a HR chatbot is currently in use. The data was collected and analysed using thematic analysis. Most of the research findings replicated previous literature and as a result all null hypotheses were accepted. The research however yielded several interesting findings that were not mentioned in the literature, those of which were mostly specific to an organisational setting. Therefore, future research is recommended in these areas to develop a holistic understanding of chatbot usage within a business setting.

Item Type:	Thesis (Masters)
Subjects:	Q Science > QA Mathematics > Electronic computers. Computer science T Technology > T Technology (General) > Information Technology > Electronic computers. Computer science H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > HD28 Management. Industrial Management > Human Resource Management
Divisions:	School of Business > Master of Arts in Human Resource Management
Depositing User:	Clara Chan
Date Deposited:	21 Nov 2022 17:33
Last Modified:	21 Nov 2022 17:33
URI:	https://norma.ncirl.ie/id/eprint/5918

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