The role of artificial intelligence in developing smart sports marketing and its impact on the behavior and performance of physical education students

Abstract

In this study, the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in boosting smart sports marketing and its impact on students\' engagement and academic outcomes in higher education is examined. Embracing the principles of the Technology Acceptance Model and the Student Engagement Theory, the study focuses on assessing the potential of AI-powered smart sports marketing to boost student engagement and influence their behavior and academics. The study was designed in a quantitative study, and a structured questionnaire was used, answered by 264 third and fourth year undergraduate students from five educational institutions in Iraq. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was used for the analysis of the collected data. The results show that utilizing AI in smart sports marketing can have a profound impact on interactive learning, fostering a customized digital learning space that boosts student engagement and inspires active learning. While the direct impact of AI on student performance was somewhat limited, the changes in student behavior were another important pathway for how AI boosted learning outcomes. The mediation analysis confirmed partial mediation effect, suggesting that AI has a direct as well as indirect effect on academic performance through improving student behaviors and engagement. Moreover, the learning effectiveness was supported by continuous monitoring of students and individual interaction. The proposed integrated framework in this study is a novel approach in linking AI with smart sports marketing, student engagement, and academic performance. It also offers implications for the design of intelligent educational systems that focus on personalization, interaction and behavioral support, that can lead to more effective learning and better education results.