A Structural Model for Students' Adoption of Learning Management Systems: An Empirical Investigation in the Higher Education Context

Abstract

With the recent advances in information technologies, Learning Management Systems have taken on a significant role in providing educational resources. The successful use of these systems in higher education is important for the implementation, management and continuous improvement of e-learning services to increase the quality of learning. This study aimed to identify the factors affecting higher education students' behavioral intention towards Learning Management Systems. A research model was proposed based on the belief factors of the technology acceptance model; namely perceived usefulness, perceived ease-of-use and external factors including self-efficacy, enjoyment, subjective norm, satisfaction, and interactivity and control. Then, a self-reported questionnaire was distributed online. A total of 470 higher education students participated in the survey. The proposed structural model was assessed and validated using structural equation modeling, in particular the partial least square method. The predictors of behavioral intention were identified as perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, enjoyment, subjective norm, satisfaction, and interactivity and control with the validated structural model. The relationships between the influencing factors provided an insight about the students' behavioral intention towards the use of Learning Management Systems. It is expected that the academicians and practitioners will benefit from the design and findings of the current study in their future research.