AI-powered brainstorming tools and creative idea generation among university students: The role of creative self-efficacy and artificial intelligence literacy
AI-powered brainstorming tools are increasingly used in higher education, yet limited evidence explains how they shape students’ creative idea generation or how individual capabilities, particularly AI literacy, influence these effects. The purpose of this research is to examine how artificial intelligence (AI)-powered brainstorming tools influence creative idea generation among undergraduate business students in Malaysia. Building on Social Cognitive Theory, we proposed a moderated mediation model in which AI-powered brainstorming tools enhance creative idea generation directly and indirectly through creative self-efficacy; however, AI literacy strengthens these relationships. Data for this research were collected from 293 undergraduate business students of a private university in Malaysia through a classroom-administered survey and analyzed using Mplus. Results show that AI-powered brainstorming tools were positively related to creative idea generation and creative self-efficacy. Creative self-efficacy positively affected creative idea generation and also partially mediated the relationship between AI-powered brainstorming tools and creative idea generation. AI literacy moderated the effect of AI-powered brainstorming tools on both creative self-efficacy and creative idea generation. Research contributions, limitations, and future research directions are also discussed.
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