Factors influencing attitudes and behavioral intentions toward GenAI in creative collaboration: A cross-cultural comparison via a hybrid multistage approach

The integration of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) into creative tasks offers strong potential to enhance team creativity and collaborative competence. However, the factors shaping attitudes and behavioral intentions toward GenAI in creative collaboration have received limited attention, particularly in cross-cultural contexts. To address these gaps, this study has developed and validated an integrated theoretical framework via a hybrid multistage approach. First, focus group interviews (N = 15) informed the extension of the TAM-TPB model by incorporating perceived risk, openness to experience, and AI literacy. Then, cross-cultural survey data from China (N = 529) and the USA (N = 544) were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM), multi-group analysis (MGA), and artificial neural networks (ANN). Results showed that subjective norm influenced user attitudes in both countries. In China, perceived usefulness and risk were key predictors, whereas in the USA, ease of use and openness to experience were more influential. Attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control were found to be critical determinants of behavioral intentions across both groups. By integrating perspectives from creativity research, this study provides theoretical and practical implications for the adoption of GenAI in creative domains, informing educators, industry practitioners, and technology developers.