How organizational support enhances teachers’ AI literacy: the chain mediating effects of innovation capability and technology acceptance

Teachers’ artificial intelligence (AI) literacy is a critical competency for building effective interactive learning environments, yet a substantial gap persists between organizational support and teachers’ individual capacities. Drawing on the Technology–Organization–Environment (TOE) framework, this study employs structural equation modeling to analyze survey data from 10,683 primary and secondary school teachers in Shanghai, China, examining the mechanism through which organizational support enhances teachers’ AI literacy via innovation capability and technology acceptance. The findings reveal that organizational support exerts both a significant direct effect on AI literacy (18.2% of total effect) and substantial indirect effects through innovation capability (22.4%) and technology acceptance (22.8%). Most importantly, innovation capability and technology acceptance jointly form a chain mediation pathway accounting for 36.6% of the total effect, revealing a complete mechanism: organizational support → innovation capability → technology acceptance → AI literacy. This study is the first to clarify this chain transmission mechanism, offering a new theoretical perspective for understanding how organizational factors systematically promote teachers’ AI literacy. Based on these findings, a four-level collaborative framework—institutional support, resource coordination, mechanism innovation, and agent empowerment—is proposed to provide actionable strategies for enhancing teachers’ AI literacy and optimizing interactive learning environments.