Unraveling the Impact of ChatGPT as a Knowledge Anchor in Business Education

The emergence of Large Language Models (LLM), such as ChatGPT, is considered a productivity revolution in many areas of business and society. For a classroom setting, especially, it would be useful to understand whether, and how, to incorporate ChatGPT, similar to any other productivity revolution technology, such as calculators or a Google search engine. Although there are concerns regarding the use of LLMs in business education, the positive or negative impact of LLM use is not well-understood. In this research, we examine the substitution and complementarity effects of using ChatGPT in business curricula on learning outcomes and well-being in a socially supportive learning environment. Specifically, we examine whether technology anchors impact students’ goal orientation, learning outcomes, and well-being by conducting an empirical study with students majoring in Information Systems. Our analysis reveals that a technology anchor (computer playfulness) can complement the effects of social support on learning outcomes, while enhancing well-being for simple tasks. Students’ well-being and learning outcomes are hindered by LLM use (specifically, the computer anxiety anchor), substituting social support for simple and difficult tasks. These findings have implications for educational institutions that are assessing how to incorporate LLMs into business curricula.