From invisible to visible: How artificial intelligence facilitates generativity in product architecture

Abstract

Artificial intelligence (AI) reshapes the business landscape. The role of AI applications in product innovation has received much attention, yet the impact of AI technologies on the product itself remains insufficient. To address this question, we developed a theoretical framework around the resource-based view and the concept of generativity. We theorize and investigate the impact of AI application on generativity in a product architecture and whether generativity promotes product sales. Using a new energy vehicle (NEV) as a sample, we set a research context of digital manufacturing in which we argue that AI applications facilitate the generation of intelligent functions in NEVs, and intelligent functions promote vehicle sales. We further find that AI–large language model (LLM) adoption weakens the positive relationship between intelligent functions and vehicle sales. We aim to contribute to AI application and generativity studies, and we provide evidence for manufacturers to develop appropriate AI system strategies.