Date of Award

Summer 2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Business Administration (DBA)

Committee Chair

Christine Sutton

Abstract

Artificial intelligence tools are increasingly used in healthcare, but successful implementation depends on more than technical deployment. Staff acceptance is one important factor that influences whether AI tools are used in practice. Traditional technology acceptance research has emphasized perceived usefulness, ease of use, social influence, and facilitating conditions. Less attention has been given to the role of emotional intelligence and trust during an AI-related change. The purpose of this research was to examine the relationship between healthcare leaders’ perceived emotional intelligence and their clinical team’s behavioral intention to use AI tools. The study also examined whether age moderated this relationship and whether trust in leadership mediated this relationship. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to examine the hypothesized relationships among perceived leader emotional intelligence, trust in leadership, age, and behavioral intention. The analysis found that perceived leader emotional intelligence is related to behavioral intention through trust in leadership rather than through a direct pathway. Age did not moderate the relationship between perceived leader emotional intelligence and behavioral intention. The findings support a trust-based interpretation of healthcare AI acceptance and suggest that emotionally intelligent leadership may support AI adoption by strengthening the team’s trust in their leadership.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License

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