Examining business students’ intentions to misuse ChatGPT through the lens of deterrence and neutralisation theories

Sandeep Goyal, Sumedha Chauhan and Luvai Motiwalla

Behaviour and Information Technology, 2026, vol. 45, issue 4, 660-679

Abstract: The present study investigated the business school students’ intention to misuse Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) technologies like ChatGPT to complete their academic assignments. This study contextualises the key elements from deterrence and neutralisation theories, including the role of gender, which influence the students’ misuse intention in higher education towards using GenAI to assist in completing their academic work. We collected data from 413 business school students in India who had already used ChatGPT for their academic assignments. The analysis indicates a positive relationship between all neutralisation techniques and misuse intention. Regarding deterrence elements, the severity of formal sanctions, the certainty of shame, and moral beliefs negatively affect the students’ misuse intention. In terms of the moderating influence of gender, we found that male students, as compared to females, are relatively likely to exhibit a greater degree of neutralisation behaviour and a lesser degree of deterrence behaviour. Overall, the results show that neutralisation techniques have a greater impact than deterrence factors in controlling the misuse of GenAI for academic assignments. The study further reflects how the impact of neutralisation constructs and deterrence factors varies between males and females in using GenAI at higher education institutions.

Date: 2026
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DOI: 10.1080/0144929X.2025.2525307

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