From tools to boundary conditions: AI maturity as an accelerator of digital-nomad-oriented management practices

Wei Su, Irena Kokina, Weibo Zhou

Article ID: 8502
Vol 4, Issue 1, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.23812/ssd8502

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Abstract

Artificial intelligence (AI) is widely discussed as a productivity tool, yet empirical research rarely theorizes AI as a boundary condition that alters whether, and how strongly, digital-era management practices translate into employee and organizational outcomes. Drawing on socio-technical systems theory and emerging views of algorithmic agency, we argue that AI maturity - distinct from digital integration because it reflects the extent to which predictive and generative AI are embedded in workflows, coordination routines, decision support, and planning - amplifies the effectiveness of digital-nomad-oriented management practices. We test this AI accelerator effect using a cross-regional survey dataset (N = 372) of employees and managers recruited through digital-nomad communities and collaborating organizations across China, the United States, and Europe. Hierarchical regression models with heteroskedasticity-robust standard errors show that AI maturity strengthens the positive association between DRISA practices and employee engagement. AI maturity also conditions the performance consequences of spatial flexibility: simple slopes indicate that spatial flexibility is performance-reducing when AI maturity is low but performance-enhancing when AI maturity is high. These results reposition AI maturity as a coordination capability that changes the marginal returns to autonomy- and flexibility-oriented work designs, while clarifying its conceptual distinctiveness from broader digital integration and underscoring that sustainable digitally flexible work depends on adequate coordination capacity.


Keywords

algorithmic agency; socio-technical systems; distributed work; employee engagement; organizational performance


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