Supplementary file 1_Helpful or harmful? generative AI dependence, self-reported critical thinking disposition, and self-perceived employability among business students.docx

Drawing on cognitive load theory, cognitive offloading, habit formation, and the augmentation–automation distinction, this study examines the associations between GenAI use, GenAI dependence, self-reported critical-thinking disposition, and self-perceived employability among undergraduate business students in Oman.

Cross-sectional survey data from 412 students were analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling, with covariance-based SEM used as a robustness check. The findings show that GenAI use is positively associated with GenAI dependence and self-perceived employability. Its positive association with self-reported critical-thinking disposition emerges in the adjusted structural model after accounting for GenAI dependence and the interaction between GenAI use and GenAI dependence, rather than as a strong zero-order relationship.