The Mediating Role of ICTs in the Relationship Between Pedagogical Innovation and Student Satisfaction in Private Universities in Northern Peru

Background Private universities in northern Peru face the challenge of aligning pedagogical innovation with effective technological integration to improve student satisfaction. Most Peruvian studies rely on bivariate analyses and rarely examine the pathways linking pedagogical innovation to satisfaction. This study analyzes whether ICT integration mediates the relationship between pedagogical innovation and student satisfaction at private universities in northern Peru. Methods A quantitative, non-experimental, cross-sectional design was applied to 341 undergraduate students from the northern macroregion of Peru (La Libertad, Lambayeque, Piura, and Áncash), selected through stratified probability sampling. Data were collected using a 40-item self-administered online questionnaire rated on a five-point Likert scale, validated by five expert judges (Aiken's V = 0.92), with excellent construct reliability (α = 0.91–0.97; ω = 0.93–0.98; AVE = 0.60–0.71). The mediation model was estimated using Model 4 of Hayes' PROCESS macro with 5,000 bootstrap resamples. Results All five hypotheses were confirmed. Pedagogical innovation positively predicted ICT integration (β = 0.856, p < 0.001) and student satisfaction both directly (β = 0.340, p < 0.001) and indirectly through ICT integration (indirect effect β = 0.480; 95% bootstrap CI [0.367; 0.585]), confirming partial mediation with a variance accounted for (VAF) of 58.5%. The model explained 75.6% of the variance in student satisfaction and 73.3% in ICT integration, with large effect sizes and positive predictive validity (Q 2 > 0). Importance-performance analysis (IPMA) identified pedagogical innovation as the construct with the greatest potential impact on satisfaction. Conclusions ICT integration partially mediates the relationship between pedagogical innovation and student satisfaction, accounting for more than half of the total effect. Pedagogical innovation also exerts a significant direct effect on satisfaction, indicating that non-technological channels — such as human interaction quality, curricular relevance, and meaningful assessment — remain important. These findings suggest that simultaneous and complementary investment in pedagogical innovation and ICT integration, prioritized through IPMA, offers the greatest return for private universities in northern Peru seeking to improve the quality of the student experience.