Exploring factors affecting tertiary students’ stickiness with Edu-Tech GPT

Students from Generation Z receive individualized help through brainstorming and suggestions, as well as access to quality knowledge through Edu-Tech GPT. This study investigates the factors that contribute to the engagement and adherence of tertiary students with these tools, particularly focusing on the use of explainable AI in academic research among digitally divided nations. A conceptual framework with four reflective dimensions derived from literature on adapted Diffusion of Innovation theories and verified through focus group discussions. Initially, this research conducted a focus group interview of 141 Generation Z students from 10 different universities from Bangladesh who regularly use web-based Edu-Tech GPT services for their research projects. The process was able to extract four study dimensions after that conduct a survey with 26 items using purposing sampling technique. The data has been processed using Smart-PLS 4 for hypothesis testing. The results demonstrated that hedonic motivation, perceived utility, and usability have the most impact on students’ engagement with Edu-Tech GPT services. This unique research empirically examines the impact of AI-powered technologies on Edu-Tech innovation and also proposed a value proposition framework for academician and practitioners.