The effect of individual and technological factors on the adoption of cloud based e-learning by students: the role of attitude, trust, and it knowledge

Abstract

Cloud computing (CC) has created a paradigm shift in using technology. Previous studies focused on the adoption of this technology among business organizations while studies that are related to educational institutions are little. In addition, the technology was widely adopted in developed countries while the adoption among users in developing countries such as Lebanon is ranged between 10-20%. Majority of previous studies have used Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and few studies examined the applicability of Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) in the context of cloud based studies. The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors that affect the cloud based e-learning (CBEL) adoption among students in Lebanon. The literature and the theories related to adoption of technology were reviewed. Mainly, UTAUT as well as Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE), partially TAM, Social Exchange Theory (SET), and Information System Success (IS Success) were used to develop a conceptual model of this study. In addition, the existing models of CBEL were reviewed and the most important factors were extracted from the previous studies. Validation of the factors was conducted to determine their suitability with the context of the Lebanese universities. Based on the review, the conceptual model proposed that individual factors (user satisfaction, performance expectancy, effort expectancy, and social influence) and technological factors (privacy, security, and availability) affected the behavioural intention to use CBEL. It also proposed that the effects of individual factors and technological factors on behavioural intention might be mediated by trust and attitude. Facilitating condition and behavioural intention were proposed to have direct effect on the use behaviour of CBEL. The model also proposed that IT knowledge offered moderating role between individual factors and technological factor, and the behavioural intention to use CBEL. The population of this study was the Lebanese universities. However, only four universities which use the technology in Lebanon were selected. Accordingly, the population was limited to the four universities. A stratified sampling technique was applied to collect the data using a questionnaire. A total of 422 students participated in this study. Data was analyzed using statistical package of social science (SPSS) and Smart Partial Least Square (PLS).A preliminary analysis such as outliers, normality, multicollinearity and non-response bias was conducted using SPSS. In addition, exploratory factor analysis was also conducted. The hypotheses testing was conducted using PLS. The findings indicated that the effect of individual factors and its dimensions of user satisfaction, performance expectancy (PE) and effort expectancy (EE) on behavioural intention (BI) were significant. However, social influence (SI) gave insignificant effect on BI. The finding also showed that the effect of technological factors and its dimensions of privacy, security and availability on behavioural intention were significant. Facilitating condition and behavioural intention affected the use behaviour of CBEL. Trust and attitude partially mediated the effect of individual factors and technological factors on behavioural intention. The findings also indicated that IT knowledge did not moderate the effect of individual and technological factors on behavioural intention. However, it has a direct effect on behavioural intention. Implications of this study were discussed. According to the current findings, Decision makers were recommended to focus on the individual factors and to create secure and trustworthy CBEL. Limitations and directions of future works were discussed.