Purpose: This study investigates the challenges of integrating AI ethics to enhance employee happiness in high-interaction tourism workplaces, where emotional labor and continuous guest engagement increase stress and affect performance. Design/methodology/approach: The study employed a mixed-methods approach, combining manager interviews with surveys of 558 employees and 130 managers. Using SmartPLS 4.1.1.4 for non-normal data and complex mediation, the research is primarily confirmatory while also exploring underexamined intersections of ethical AI and employee happiness in tourism. Findings: Results show ethical AI impacts employee well-being (R² = 0.640) more than managers’ (R² = 0.414). Technostress reduction supports employees’ cultural integration, while transparency and fairness enhance managers’ empowerment. Data privacy shapes employee HCDH perceptions, indicating role-specific priorities and ethical AI’s potential to boost happiness in service contexts. Originality/value: This study provides empirical evidence that ethical AI fosters employee well-being in tourism and hospitality. Offering a replicable framework for other sectors and regions, it links human-centered AI with Human Capital Development, contributing to theory and practice while guiding the creation of employee-focused, ethically responsible AI strategies in service-intensive workplaces.
What role do emotions play in transforming students’ environmental behaviour at school?
Different methodologies of education for sustainability have raised environmental awareness in schools. However, these studies have barely considered the effect...
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