Integration of the SECI model and ChatGPT in higher education

In educational settings, the socialization, externalization, combination, and internalization (SECI) model promotes collaboration, the creation of new knowledge, and the integration of individual and collective experiences, thereby enriching learning with greater depth and meaning. The objective of this study was to identify the factors that contribute to the optimal development of the SECI model through the use of ChatGPT, to understand their interaction. The experiment included undergraduate students of business sciences at public and private universities in Cusco, Huancayo, and Lima, Peru. The students were divided into control and experimental groups, with 100 students in each group. The main selection criteria were prior knowledge of and willingness to use ChatGPT and being enrolled in a finance course. The phases of the SECI model were evaluated using ChatGPT in the experimental group through group discussions, brainstorming sessions, the creation of a manual, and individual assessments, exploring the impact of ChatGPT usage on learning. A comparison and description of each phase was conducted. Results revealed that while the use of ChatGPT improved the quality of interaction and externalization of knowledge in the experimental group compared to the control group, it did not have a notable impact on the quality of combination or internalization of knowledge. A multinomial logistic regression analyzed the impact of ChatGPT usage in each phase. Findings showed that the SECI model without ChatGPT explained 63.4 % of the change in internalization, while with ChatGPT it was 41.3 %. A positive correlation was observed between the use of ChatGPT and the performance in objective tests during the externalization and combination phases. However, while it enhanced the generation of ideas in the early stages of learning, it did not necessarily increase tacit knowledge in the internalization phase. The importance of using tools such as ChatGPT carefully and selectively, especially in the context of acquiring specialized knowledge, was emphasized.