Why Trust Matters More Than Utility: Physicians’ Acceptance of Algorithmic Management in AI-Driven Pharmaceutical Communication

Today’s society is witnessing an accelerated expansion of artificial intelligence systems and algorithmic management systems in customer relationship management across most areas of life, transforming the way companies communicate with professionals, this transition being fully underway also in the pharmaceutical and healthcare domain. First of all, AI-supported digital communication in the pharmaceutical and medical field promises efficiency, personalization, and scalability, however it has been observed that the acceptance of an algorithmically mediated communication model remains a topic on which healthcare professionals have uneven approaches. Based on an extended Technology Acceptance Model, this study investigates the role of trust in algorithms as a central mechanism in shaping physicians’ behavioral intention to use AI-based pharmaceutical communication systems.

Data were collected through a questionnaire from physicians in several European countries and analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling, and thus, our model examines the effects of perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use on behavioral intention, treating trust in algorithms both as a direct predictor and as a mediating variable. The study results show that perceived usefulness does not directly influence behavioral intention, its effect being fully mediated by trust in algorithms, but instead, perceived ease of use has both direct and indirect effects, highlighting its dual role in adoption and in trust formation, thus our study offers relevant managerial implications, suggesting that digital strategies in the pharmaceutical industry should be centered on transparency, ethical design, and usability in order to support sustainable engagement of healthcare professionals.