The Role of AI Literacy and Educational Attainment in Digital Consumer Engagement: Evidence from Cross-Border E-Commerce
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.62497/irjed.279Keywords:
AI, Artificial intelligence literacy, Digital literacy, Educational attainment, Consumer education, AI-driven personalization, Brand engagement, Cross-border e-commerce, e-commerceAbstract
Introduction: The rapid integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into digital marketing and cross-border e-commerce has transformed consumer engagement and purchasing behavior. However, the role of education, particularly AI literacy and educational attainment, in shaping consumers' understanding of and responses to AI-driven personalization remains insufficiently explored.
Objective: This study investigates the moderating role of consumer AI literacy and educational attainment in the relationship between AI-driven marketing personalization, brand engagement, and cross-border e-commerce performance. It further examines cross-national differences in these relationships to highlight the educational implications of AI adoption in digital consumer environments.
Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 847 consumers from six countries: the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Vietnam, Australia, and China. Structural equation modeling and moderated mediation analysis were employed to examine the relationships among AI-driven personalization, brand engagement, cross-border purchasing outcomes, and consumer AI literacy.
Results: AI-driven marketing personalization demonstrated a significant positive association with brand engagement (β = 0.47, p < 0.001), while brand engagement was positively associated with cross-border purchase performance (β = 0.52, p < 0.001). Consumer AI literacy significantly moderated the relationship between personalization and brand engagement (ΔR² = 0.03, p = 0.004), with stronger associations observed among consumers reporting higher educational attainment and AI literacy. Cross-national comparisons further indicated that the moderating effect was more pronounced in developed-market samples than in emerging-market samples.
Conclusion: The findings highlight the importance of AI literacy and educational background in shaping consumer engagement with AI-driven digital environments. By demonstrating the moderating influence of AI-related competencies, this study extends the understanding of digital literacy beyond conventional educational settings to global e-commerce participation. The findings suggest that educational initiatives focused on AI awareness, algorithmic understanding, and critical digital literacy may help consumers navigate personalized digital platforms more effectively and support equitable participation in the global digital economy.
References
Vlačić B, Corbo L, Costa e Silva S, Dabić M. The evolving role of artificial intelligence in marketing: a review and research agenda. J Bus Res. 2021;128:187-203. doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.01.055.
Goldman SPK, van Herk H, Verhagen T, Weltevreden JWJ. Strategic orientations and digital marketing tactics in cross-border e-commerce: comparing developed and emerging markets. Int Small Bus J. 2021;39(4):350-371. doi:10.1177/0266242620962658.
Dwivedi YK, Hughes L, Ismagilova E, Aarts G, Coombs C, Crick T, et al. Artificial intelligence (AI): multidisciplinary perspectives on emerging challenges, opportunities, and agenda for research, practice and policy. Int J Inf Manage. 2021;57:101994. doi:10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2019.08.002.
Davenport TH, Guha A, Grewal D, Bressgott T. How artificial intelligence will change the future of marketing. J Acad Mark Sci. 2020;48(1):24-42. doi:10.1007/s11747-019-00696-0.
Huang MH, Rust RT. A strategic framework for artificial intelligence in marketing. J Acad Mark Sci. 2021;49(1):30-50. doi:10.1007/s11747-020-00749-9.
Carolus A, Koch T, Straka S, Latoschik ME, Wienrich C. AI literacy: development and validation of a self-report measure. Comput Human Behav. 2023;148:107898. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2023.107898.
Aguirre E, Mahr D, Grewal D, de Ruyter K, Wetzels M. Unraveling the personalization paradox: the effect of information collection and trust-building strategies on online advertisement effectiveness. J Retail. 2015;91(1):34-49. doi:10.1016/j.jretai.2014.09.005.
Logg JM, Minson JA, Moore DA. Algorithm appreciation: people prefer algorithmic to human judgment. Organ Behav Hum Decis Process. 2019;151:90-103. doi:10.1016/j.obhdp.2018.12.005.
Ko H, Lee S, Park Y, Choi A. A survey of recommendation systems: recommendation models, techniques, and application fields. Electronics. 2022;11(1):141. doi:10.3390/electronics11010141.
Tam KY, Ho SY. Understanding the impact of Web personalization on user information processing and decision outcomes. MIS Q. 2006;30(4):865-890. doi:10.2307/25148757.
Zhang Y, Feng Y, Zhou WJ, Ye Y, Tan M, Xiao R, et al. Multi-domain deep learning from a multi-view perspective for cross-border e-commerce search. Proc AAAI Conf Artif Intell. 2024;38(8):9387-9395. doi:10.1609/aaai.v38i8.28792.
Arora N, Dreze X, Ghose A, Hess JD, Iyengar R, Jing B, et al. Putting one-to-one marketing to work: personalization, customization, and choice. Mark Lett. 2008;19(3-4):305-321. doi:10.1007/s11002-008-9056-z.
Wedel M, Kannan PK. Marketing analytics for data-rich environments. J Mark. 2016;80(6):97-121. doi:10.1509/jm.15.0413.
Lemon KN, Verhoef PC. Understanding customer experience throughout the customer journey. J Mark. 2016;80(6):69-96. doi:10.1509/jm.15.0420.
Hollebeek LD, Glynn MS, Brodie RJ. Consumer brand engagement in social media: conceptualization, scale development and validation. J Interact Mark. 2014;28(2):149-165. doi:10.1016/j.intmar.2013.12.002.
Brodie RJ, Hollebeek LD, Jurić B, Ilić A. Customer engagement: conceptual domain, fundamental propositions, and implications for research. J Serv Res. 2011;14(3):252-271. doi:10.1177/1094670511411703.
Verhoef PC, Lemon KN, Parasuraman A, Roggeveen A, Tsiros M, Schlesinger LA. Customer experience creation: determinants, dynamics and management strategies. J Retail. 2009;85(1):31-41. doi:10.1016/j.jretai.2008.11.001.
Homburg C, Jozić D, Kuehnl C. Customer experience management: toward implementing an evolving marketing concept. J Acad Mark Sci. 2017;45(3):377-401. doi:10.1007/s11747-015-0460-7.
Mollen A, Wilson H. Engagement, telepresence and interactivity in online consumer experience: reconciling scholastic and managerial perspectives. J Bus Res. 2010;63(9-10):919-925. doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2009.05.014.
Mogaji E, Soetan TO, Kieu TA. The implications of artificial intelligence on customer experience and marketing: a systematic review. Int J Consum Stud. 2024;48(2):e13012. doi:10.1111/ijcs.13012.
Long D, Magerko B. What is AI literacy? Competencies and design considerations. In: Proceedings of the 2020 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. New York: Association for Computing Machinery; 2020. p. 1-16. doi:10.1145/3313831.3376727.
Boerman SC, Kruikemeier S, Zuiderveen Borgesius FJ. Online behavioral advertising: a literature review and research agenda. J Advert. 2017;46(3):363-376. doi:10.1080/00913367.2017.1339368.
Dietvorst BJ, Simmons JP, Massey C. Algorithm aversion: people erroneously avoid algorithms after seeing them err. J Exp Psychol Gen. 2015;144(1):114-126. doi:10.1037/xge0000033.
Castelo N, Bos MW, Lehmann DR. Task-dependent algorithm aversion. J Mark Res. 2019;56(5):809-825. doi:10.1177/0022243719851788.
Longoni C, Cian L. Artificial intelligence in utilitarian vs. hedonic contexts: the “word-of-machine” effect. J Mark. 2022;86(1):91-108. doi:10.1177/0022242920957347.
Grewal D, Hulland J, Kopalle PK, Karahanna E. The future of technology and marketing: a multidisciplinary perspective. J Acad Mark Sci. 2020;48(1):1-8. doi:10.1007/s11747-019-00711-4.
Kaplan AM, Haenlein M. Siri, Siri, in my hand: who's the fairest in the land? On the interpretations, illustrations, and implications of artificial intelligence. Bus Horiz. 2019;62(1):15-25. doi:10.1016/j.bushor.2018.08.004.
Ransbotham S, Kiron D, Gerbert P, Reeves M. Reshaping business with artificial intelligence. MIT Sloan Manag Rev. 2017;59(1):1-17.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Fakhre Alam, Umar Ali (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
