Research & Publications

When Knowing It’s AI Isn’t Enough

Shrestha, R., Bentley, J.

As virtual influencers become common in social media advertising, this study examines how AI disclosure shapes audience trust and willingness to engage among U.S. Gen Z consumers. Drawing on the Persuasion Knowledge Model, this study examines responses to AI disclosure of virtual influencers among U.S. Gen Z consumers (N = 364). Participants were randomly assigned to view […]

International Conference on Education (ICE) 2026

Rated by AI: Employee Motivation and Performance Under Algorithmic vs. Human

Shrestha, R., Pokhrel, P.

Purpose: The study explores whether the type of evaluator, human manager versus AI-based performance management system, affects employees’ intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, perception of procedural justice and interpersonal justice in a non-Western entrepreneurial context. It addresses a gap in the AI-in-HRM literature, which has disproportionately studied large Western organizations and has left the motivational consequences of […]

Annual Conference of the American Academy of Advertising, Austin, TX, 2026.

The “ChatGPT Effect”? Exploring AI-Assisted Creative Process in Strategic Communication

Liu, W., Wang, Y., Shrestha, R., Ding, W.

This study examines how AI assistance shapes creative brief writing among strategic communication students. In a between-subject experiment (N = 83), we compare AI-assisted and non-AI-assisted groups across writing quality, interaction patterns, cognitive engagement, self-efficacy, and agency attribution. Quantitative and qualitative analyses reveal a clear “ChatGPT Effect”: AI improved quality, appropriateness, and articulateness, with modest […]