International Journal of Business and Quality Research
Vol. 4 No. 04 (2026): October - December International Journal of Business and Quality Research (IJB

The Use of Artificial Intelligence and Employee Performance in Creative Agencies: The Mediating Role of Work Engagement

Ichsan Sugandi (STIE Mahardhika Surabaya)
Sri Rahayu (STIE Mahardhika Surabaya)
Anita Kartika Sari (STIE Mahardhika Surabaya)



Article Info

Publish Date
23 Oct 2026

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the effects of digital competence and artificial intelligence (AI) utilization on employee performance, with work engagement as a mediating variable among creative agency employees in Jabodetabek, Indonesia. A quantitative explanatory survey was conducted involving 184 respondents selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected using an online questionnaire with a five-point Likert scale and analyzed using PROCESS Macro Model 4 with 5,000 bootstrap samples and 95% confidence intervals. The results indicate that digital competence and AI utilization have positive and significant effects on both work engagement and employee performance. Work engagement also has a positive and significant effect on employee performance. The indirect effect of digital competence on employee performance through work engagement was 0.2224, while the indirect effect of AI utilization was 0.1591. Both indirect effects were significant, indicating that work engagement partially mediates the relationships between digital competence and employee performance and between AI utilization and employee performance. These findings suggest that developing digital capabilities and utilizing AI should be accompanied by efforts to strengthen employee engagement to improve performance. However, the cross-sectional design, purposive sampling technique, and self-reported questionnaire limit causal interpretation and the generalizability of the findings. This study contributes to the digital workplace literature by integrating digital competence, AI utilization, work engagement, and employee performance within a mediation framework. Practically, the findings provide insights for creative agencies to enhance digital competencies, promote responsible AI utilization, and strengthen employee engagement.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

IJBQR

Publisher

Subject

Decision Sciences, Operations Research & Management Economics, Econometrics & Finance

Description

International Journal of Business,and Quality research (IJBQR) is a high quality open access peer reviewed research journal. providing a platform for the researchers, academicians, professional, practitioners and students to impart and share knowledge in the form of high quality empirical and ...