The Impact of Knowledge Acquisition, Knowledge Sharing, and Technology Acceptance Factors on Generative AI Adoption in Higher Education Institutions

Generative AI (Gen-AI) tools affect the way higher education works. It improves the productivity and creativity of both students and academics. The government in Saudi Arabia is working to improve its higher education system by investing billions of dollars in AI projects to support the development of socio-economic and achieve a transformation from an oil-based to a knowledge-based economy. The current study aims to identify and examine knowledge acquisition, knowledge sharing, and technology factors that influence Gen-AI adoption in higher education institutions among Saudi academic staff. Thus, the current research-in-progress paper discusses how a particular set of knowledge acquisition, knowledge sharing, and technology factors can support the achievement of Gen-AI adoption in Saudi Arabian higher education institutions. Therefore, this study develops a conceptual framework based on the literature on knowledge acquisition, knowledge sharing, and technology acceptance in HEIs, with the ultimate aim of examining the behavioural intention to adopt Gen-AI in Saudi Arabian HEIs.