Generative AI Use and Employee Creativity in Banking: A Conservation of Resources Perspective on the Moderating Role of AI Literacy

Abstract

Purpose – Banks are rapidly deploying generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools, yet it is unclear whether these tools make bank employees more or less creative. Drawing on conservation of resources (COR) theory, this conceptual paper develops a model explaining how GenAI use can simultaneously enhance and undermine employee creativity in banking. Design/methodology/approach – The paper integrates recent (2025) evidence from management, psychology, economics, human–computer interaction and banking research to build a theory-driven model and a set of testable propositions. Findings – The model proposes that GenAI use raises creativity through a resource-gain path (perceived upskilling) and lowers it through a resource-loss path (AI dependence). AI literacy is proposed to strengthen the gain path and weaken the loss path, and therefore to determine which effect dominates. Six propositions formalize these relationships. Research limitations/implications – The propositions require empirical testing. The paper sets out a three-wave, multi-source research design and recommended measures for doing so. Practical implications – For banks, providing GenAI tools is not enough. Creative returns depend on building employees' AI literacy, designing workflows that protect independent judgment and monitoring over-reliance, which matters especially in a regulated industry where unchecked AI output carries compliance risk. Originality/value – The paper is one of the few to theorize both the gain and the loss sides of GenAI use for employee creativity in banking, and it positions AI literacy as a trainable boundary condition.

Keywords: generative AI; employee creativity; banking; conservation of resources theory; AI literacy; AI dependence; conceptual paper