AI LITERACY AND INTENTION TO USE GENERATIVE AI: EVIDENCE FROM UNDERGRADUATE BUSINESS STUDENTS

Abstract

As educational settings increasingly adopt generative artificial intelligence (AI), it has become essential to understand how AI literacy shapes individuals’ intention to use generative AI. Drawing on a Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB)–informed perspective that emphasizes perceived behavioral control, this study examines the effects of four AI literacy components—AI knowledge, AI usage skill, awareness of AI limitations, and AI ethical awareness—on intention to use generative AI. Data were collected from 123 undergraduates enrolled in entrepreneurship and management programs at the School of Entrepreneurship and Management (BUSEM), Bangkok University, and analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The results reveal that AI usage skill exerts the strongest positive influence on intention to use generative AI (β = 0.386, p < 0.001), followed by AI knowledge (β = 0.214, p = 0.019) and AI ethical awareness (β = 0.197, p = 0.016). Awareness of AI limitations also demonstrates a positive but comparatively weaker effect (β = 0.128, p = 0.047). Overall, the model explains a substantial proportion of variance in intention (R² = 0.582). These findings emphasize the value of enhancing students’ practical AI skills, foundational knowledge, and ethical awareness to support informed and responsible adoption of generative AI among undergraduate students in business and management education contexts.