Study on the double-edged sword effect of gen AI on college student entrepreneurial performance: evidence from the...

Academic and science and technology competitions play a significant guiding role in fostering innovation and entrepreneurship capabilities among university students. Given the current focus on generative AI (Gen AI) applications and amid growing concerns about technological replacement, it is of great significance to explore the impact of Gen AI on students' entrepreneurial performance in competitions. Taking the China International College Student Innovation Competition (CICSIC) as a case study, this research draws upon cognitive appraisal theory of stress. It uses AI self-efficacy and AI replacement perception to establish a bridge for the mechanism through which Gen AI influences college student entrepreneurial performance. A three-wave time-lagged questionnaire survey was conducted among full-time undergraduate and postgraduate students participating in CICSIC entrepreneurial projects, and 376 valid observations were obtained. The hypotheses were tested using regression analysis, bootstrap mediation analysis, and moderation analysis. The results reveal that Gen AI has a significant positive impact on college student entrepreneurial performance, while AI self-efficacy and AI replacement perception play a double-edged role in this relationship. Value co-creation participation enhances the positive impact of AI self-efficacy on entrepreneurial performance and mitigates the negative impact of AI replacement perception. This study contributes to research on Gen AI in entrepreneurship education by revealing the challenge-oriented and threat-oriented appraisal mechanisms through which Gen AI influences students' entrepreneurial outcomes. The findings also suggest that universities and competition advisors should promote responsible human-AI collaboration while reducing students' perceived replacement threat.