The role of entrepreneurial imaginativeness in enhancing AI-enabled performance: mediating and moderating mechanisms
本研究基于社会认知理论，发现创业想象力通过信息处理速度间接影响AI驱动绩效，且AI自我效能正向调节这一间接效应，对创业者和AI研究者有参考价值。
Purpose This cross-disciplinary study bridges artificial intelligence (AI) and entrepreneurship domains by introducing a mediated moderation model to explore underlying cognitive processes. Leveraging social cognitive theory, the study examines the influence of entrepreneurial imaginativeness on AI-enabled performance, emphasizing the mediating role of information processing speed and the moderating effect of AI self-efficacy. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from two studies: one with 198 student entrepreneurs in a controlled laboratory setting and another with 204 active entrepreneurs managing businesses. The objective and subjective data were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) in Mplus. Findings The results reveal that entrepreneurial imaginativeness does not directly impact AI-enabled performance but exerts an indirect effect through information processing speed. AI self-efficacy significantly moderates this relationship, amplifying the positive impact of imaginativeness on AI-enabled performance for entrepreneurs via information processing speed with high AI self-efficacy. Originality/value This study contributes by explaining cognitive mechanisms underlying entrepreneurial imaginativeness and its role in driving AI-enabled performance. It enriches the literature on entrepreneurial cognition by delineating the mediating role of information processing speed. Furthermore, the study adds to the knowledge base by theorizing AI self-efficacy as a boundary condition for cognitive mechanisms, enhancing their effectiveness in strengthening cognitive modeling processes.