AI-Embedded Digital Tools in Business Education and Entrepreneurial Intention: Gender-Based Structural Modeling

The usage of artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled technologies and information technology (IT) systems in entrepreneurship education has increased due to the digital revolution of higher education. With a focus on gender-related disparities, this study investigates how students' entrepreneurial intentions are influenced by digital business modeling tools. From non-AI to AI-embedded and fully AI-driven systems, the study places digital tools on a continuum. Data from 440 students taking part in entrepreneurial workshops using the AI-enabled digital tool KABADA served as the basis for the empirical investigation. Before and after the session, changes in entrepreneurial intention and its major antecedents—attitude toward entrepreneurship, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control—are evaluated using structural equation modeling. According to the findings, attending the KABADA workshop has a statistically significant positive indirect impact on entrepreneurial intention, which is mainly mediated by perceived behavioral control. Significant gender differences are revealed by multi-group analysis: for female students, the main factor influencing entrepreneurial intention is perceived behavioral control, while for male students, the main factor is attitude toward entrepreneurship. These results emphasize the significance of IT systems that integrate guided user engagement with AI-based analytics to improve entrepreneurial self-efficacy, especially among women.