#342 The Secrets to High AI Adoption with Stefano Puntoni, Professor at Wharton

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Jan 19, 2026

In a thought-provoking conversation, Stefano Puntoni, a marketing professor at Wharton and expert in AI adoption, delves into the intricacies of integrating AI in the workplace. He discusses why adoption rates vary and the psychological impact on employees, emphasizing the importance of corporate culture. Stefano also highlights the shift from viewing AI as a threat to seeing it as a creative collaborator. With insights on effective change management and the balance between technology and human dynamics, this discussion reveals how organizations can thrive in the age of AI.

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INSIGHT

Adoption Differs By Function And Company Size

Adoption varies widely by function: IT leads while other functions lag, with marketing catching up then stalling.
Adoption patterns mirror typical tech diffusion: younger, smaller, and IT-centric groups adopt faster.

INSIGHT

Augmentation Beats Replacement Perception

Leaders increasingly view GenAI as augmenting human skills rather than simply replacing them.
This gap grew as experimentation increased, suggesting complementarities between humans and AI.

ADVICE

Support Workers With Positive Coping Paths

Help threatened workers adapt by promoting upskilling or shifting to safer tasks.
Encourage direct resolution or fluid compensation rather than denial, sabotage, or disengagement.

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AI tools are becoming part of daily work for more professionals than ever before, yet adoption rates vary significantly across functions and company sizes. What separates organizations that successfully integrate AI from those that struggle? How do psychological factors like identity and autonomy shape how workers respond to AI implementation? And what role does corporate culture play in determining whether AI becomes a source of innovation or a point of resistance?

Stefano Puntoni is the Sebastian S. Kresge Professor of Marketing at The Wharton School. Prior to joining Penn, Stefano was a professor of marketing and head of department at the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University, in the Netherlands. He holds a PhD in marketing from London Business School and a degree in Statistics and Economics from the University of Padova, in his native Italy.

His research has appeared in several leading journals, including Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Marketing, Nature Human Behavior, and Management Science. He also writes regularly for managerial outlets such as Harvard Business Review and MIT Sloan Management Review. Most of his ongoing research investigates how new technology is changing consumption and society, including how humans are adopting and evolving with AI.

He is a former MSI Young Scholar and MSI Scholar, and the winner of several grants and awards. He is currently an Associate Editor at the Journal of Consumer Research and at the Journal of Marketing. Stefano teaches in the areas of marketing strategy, new technologies, brand management, and decision making.

In the episode, Richie and Stefano explore the challenges of AI adoption in businesses, the psychological impacts on workers, the balance between human expertise and AI, the potential mental health effects of AI chatbots, and much more.

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