Purpose This study examines how ChatGPT usage contributes to sustained engagement in higher education by focusing on the mediating roles of autonomy, user satisfaction, and intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Grounded in self-determination theory and complemented by the technology acceptance model, the study proposes a sequential mediation model to explain how students internalize continued ChatGPT usage in academic contexts. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative cross-sectional survey was conducted with 420 undergraduate students from universities in South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Data were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to assess both direct and sequentially mediated relationships among ChatGPT usage, autonomy, perceived ease of use, user satisfaction, challenge, motivation and continuous ChatGPT usage. Findings The findings show that autonomy and user satisfaction significantly mediate the relationship between ChatGPT usage and both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Perceived ease of use also strengthens user satisfaction and contributes to the motivational pathway leading to continuous ChatGPT usage. In contrast, perceived challenge does not significantly mediate the relationship between ChatGPT usage, motivation and continued use. Originality/value This study extends prior ChatGPT adoption research by moving beyond direct-effect and parallel mediation models to offer a process-oriented explanation of sustained usage. By integrating motivational and usability perspectives in an underrepresented higher education context in South Sulawesi, Indonesia, the study provides a more comprehensive account of how continued generative AI use is psychologically internalized over time.
Sofyan et al. (Thu,) studied this question.