FROM INTENTION TO ACTION: THE ROLE OF BEHAVIOURAL INTENTION AND ACTUAL CHATGPT USAGE IN SHAPING ACADEMIC RESEARCH PERFORMANCE OF POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS

Abstract

Since its public launch in November 2022, the use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools like ChatGPT has rapidly proliferated in higher education worldwide. However, the relationship between the postgraduate students' Behavioural Intention to use ChatGPT and their Actual Usage of it and its effect on Academic Research Performance is still under-researched, particularly in the developing region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), Pakistan. This study aims to study: (i) the effect of Behavioural Intention on Actual ChatGPT Usage, and (ii) the effect of Actual ChatGPT Usage on Academic Research Performance of postgraduate students studying in MPhil and PhD programmes in five public sector universities of KPK. The study is a quantitative cross-sectional survey, based on the Extended Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT). A total of 399 valid responses were obtained through stratified random sampling and then analysed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) software (SmartPLS 4.0). The results show that Behavioural Intention has a significant positive effect on Actual ChatGPT Usage (β = 0.212, p < 0.001), explaining 6.3% of the variance in Actual ChatGPT Usage, while Actual ChatGPT Usage is the strongest predictor of Academic Research Performance (β = 0.436, p < 0.001), explaining 25.7% of the variance in research outcomes. Additionally, it was confirmed that Behavioural Intention has a significant but small direct effect on Academic Research Performance (β = 0.188, p < 0.001). Notably, the low coefficient of determination for Actual Usage (R² = 0.063) indicates that there is a significant intention–behaviour gap, suggesting a range of structural and institutional barriers to productive AI use. The results have direct implications for higher education policy, governance of AI in higher education, and pedagogical design in Pakistani universities.