Digital Word-of-Mouth and Teaching Norms in the Adoption of AI Chatbots among University Students in Northern Peru (#1225)

Authors

León Luyo, Sandra Lizzette

Marquez Yauri, Heyner Yuliano

Ancajima Miñán, Víctor Angel

Rodriguez Kong, Maria Patricia

Vargas Gutierrez, Delicia De Jesús

Paredes Morales, Ana Elizabeth

Arbulu Castillo, Julie Catherine

Abstract

The main objective of this study was to examine how electronic word-of-mouth (WOM) and teacher-related social norms (SN) influenced behavioral intention (BI) and actual use behavior (USEB) of generative AI chatbots among university students in northern Peru, while testing BI as a mediator and sex as a moderator. A quantitative, non-experimental, cross-sectional, explanatory design was employed. Data were collected through a structured Likert-scale questionnaire (1–5) from 520 students in Trujillo, Piura, and Lambayeque, and the proposed model was estimated using PLS-SEM with 5,000-bootstrap resampling. The findings indicated moderately high levels of WOM, SN, BI, and USEB, alongside adequate reliability and convergent/discriminant validity. WOM positively and strongly predicted BI (β=0.56;p<0.001), whereas SN also increased BI but with a smaller effect (β=0.24; p<0.001). BI, in turn, showed a robust association with USEB (β=0.71; p<0.001). Significant indirect effects supported mediation for WOM→USEB (β=0.40) and SN→USEB (β=0.17). Sex significantly moderated the WOM→BI path but did not yield a conclusive moderation for SN→BI. Overall, adoption was concluded to be a socially mediated process, primarily driven by peer communication.