An empirical analysis of the antecedents of web-based learning continuance

Abstract

Like any other product, service and Web-based application, the success of Web-based learning depends largely on learners’ satisfaction and other factors that will eventually increase learners’ intention to continue using it. This paper integrates the concept of subjective task value and fairness theory to construct a model for investigating the motivations behind learners’ intention to continue using Web-based learning. The model theorizes that four components of subjective task value (i.e., attainment, utility, intrinsic, and cost) and three dimensions of fairness (i.e., distributive, procedural, and interactional) affect learners’ satisfaction. We also argue that satisfaction and four distinct components of subjective task value influence learners’ intention to continue using Web-based learning. The hypothesized model is validated empirically using data collected from 202 learners of a Web-based learning program designed for continuing education. The results showed that attainment value, utility value, intrinsic value, distributive fairness, and interactional fairness exhibited significant positive effects on satisfaction. Utility value and satisfaction play significant roles in shaping learners’ intention to continue using Web-based learning.

Introduction

The proliferation of network access and advances in Internet/Web technology, in conjunction with social demands for improved access to higher education has facilitated the rapid growth of online learning or electronic learning (e-learning) (Lorenzetti, 2005). e-Learning also enables organizations to reduce the total cost of and increases the efficiency of training. According to International Data Corporation (IDC), the international e-learning market is growing by leaps and bounds. IDC estimated the international e-learning market to grow from US$ 6.6 billion in 2002 to US$ 23.7 billion in 2006, at a compound annual rate of 35.6%. Cortona Consulting said that the e-learning market could reach $50 billion in 2010. 70% of universities in the USA are now providing e-learning courses, according to the research of Market Data Retrieval. Concurrent with the organizational and universities’ interest in e-learning, a large number of academic papers (Arbaugh, 2002, Carswell and Venkatesh, 2002, Chiu et al., 2005) have been published on e-learning. These developments reflect the significance of e-learning among scholars and practitioners.

The goal of this study is to explore individuals’ intention to continue using Web-based learning in a voluntary setting. Web-based learning refers to learning delivered through a Web browser over the public Internet, private intranet or extranet. It is considered as a major subcomponent of the broader term e-learning. Like any Web-based application, the success of Web-based learning depends largely on user satisfaction and other factors that will eventually increase users’ intention to continue using it (continuance intention). The importance of continued use (continuance) is evident from the fact that customer turnover can be costly, especially given that it cost more to acquire new customers than to retain existing ones (Hart et al., 1990, Reichheld and Schefter, 2000). In view of this, Web-based learning scholars and practitioners should look for ways to increase learners’ satisfaction levels and continuance intention.

Technology acceptance model (TAM) (Davis, 1989) is one of the most widely used models for explaining an individual’s behavioral intention and actual use of information technology (IT). Several recent studies drawing upon TAM have examined the effects of the two salient beliefs about technological characteristics, namely perceived usefulness and ease of use, on learners’ attitude or behavioral intention in the context of Web-based learning or distance learning (Gong et al., 2004, Lee et al., 2003, Stoel and Lee, 2003). However, those studies ignored the potentially important impacts of value and fairness. While the importance of technological characteristics cannot be denied, having well-designed Web-based learning sites/systems does not guarantee the success of Web-based learning. This is because value and fairness issues appear to be significant in guiding a learner’s overall assessment of Web-based learning, thus influencing the learner’s continuance decision.

Web-based learning can be considered as an exchange of time, effort, and money (inputs) for receiving skills, knowledge, grades, credits, or degrees (outputs) in return. According to Zeithaml (1988), it is the overall assessment of what is received and what is given that shapes learners’ intention to continue using Web-based learning. Researchers have conceptualized value as a function of a “get” component, i.e., the benefits an individual receives, and a “give” component, i.e., an individual’s monetary and non-monetary costs in acquiring and using a product or service (Parasuraman and Grewal, 2000, Sirdeshmukh et al., 2002). Benefits include the extrinsic and intrinsic utility provided by the ongoing relationship with a service provider (Gwinner, Gremier, & Bitner, 1998). Literature in the marketing suggests that value (benefits and costs) drives satisfaction, loyalty, behavioral intention to remain loyalty, and repurchase intention (Bolton and Drew, 1991, Neal, 1999, Patterson and Spreng, 1997). Value theorists argue that value is a centrally held and enduring belief and plays a central role in our everyday life decisions (Homer and Kahle, 1988, Rokeach, 1968). Equity theory theorizes that individuals seek a fair balance between input (what is given) and output (what is received). According to Adams (1965), individuals become satisfied and motivated whenever they feel their inputs are being fairly rewarded. Literature in the marketing and organization justice has affirmed the importance of fairness considerations in the assessment of satisfaction (Maxham and Netemeyer, 2002, Smith et al., 1999, Tax et al., 1998). Accordingly, a more complete study of the motivations underlying individuals’ intention to continue using Web-based learning should address issues related to value as well as fairness. To this end, two theories are applied and integrated: expectancy-value model of achievement motivation (Eccles et al., 1983) and fairness theory.

Eccles et al.’s (1983) expectancy-value model of achievement motivation, which is based on Atkinson’s (1964) expectancy-value model, links individuals’ choice, persistence, and performance to expectancy for success and subjective task value. Eccles et al.’s model outlines four motivational components of subjective task value: attainment value, intrinsic value, utility value, and cost. The model suggests that value related variables are likely to be more influential in situations of choice. Eccles and her colleagues have shown that subjective task value predicts course plans and enrollment decisions in mathematics, physics, and English courses (Eccles, 1987, Eccles et al., 1984, Meece et al., 1990). This study follows Eccles et al. (1983) in arguing that subjective task value influences learners’ satisfaction and Web-based learning continuance intention through attainment value (the importance of doing well on Web-based learning), intrinsic value (playfulness of Web-based learning), utility value (helpfulness of Web-based learning to learners’ current and future career goals), and cost (negative aspects of engaging in Web-based learning).

The concept of fairness or justice has long been studied in philosophy, political science, religion, organizational sciences, and economics (Yilmaz, Sezen, & Kabadayi, 2004). Fairness theory has its origins in equity theory. Equity theory (Adams, 1965) is a model of motivation that explains why people strive for fairness or justice in social exchange processes. According to Adams’s (1965) equity theory, an individual’s perception of the fairness of exchange relationships is determined by comparing the output/input ratio for oneself with that of referent others. When the ratios are equal, people are satisfied. Adams (1965) argued that people become demotivated, reduce input and/or seek change whenever they feel their inputs are not being fairly rewarded. Marketing and organizational justice researchers (Blodgett et al., 1997, Niehoff and Moorman, 1993, Ramaswami and Singh, 2003, Tax et al., 1998) have identified three important dimensions of fairness: distributive, procedural, and interactional. This study follows prior research in arguing that fairness influences learners’ satisfaction with Web-based learning through distributive fairness (fairness of the grades learners receive), procedural fairness (fairness of the procedures that produce the grades), and interactional fairness (fairness of the instructors’ treatment during online interaction).

This paper makes two key contributions. First, although empirical evidence has demonstrated that subjective task value and fairness matter for individuals’ satisfaction or continuance intention, fundamental gaps remain in the understanding of value and fairness components that might explain individuals’ satisfaction and continuance intention in the context of Web-based learning. This study develops the measures for the components of subjective task value and fairness and tests their reliability and validity, and empirically examines their influences on satisfaction and continuance intention. Second, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that examines the integrated influence of subjective task value and fairness on learners’ satisfaction and intention to continue using Web-based learning. In sum, by explicating the unique role of subjective task value and fairness, this paper aims at contributing to the continued development and success of Web-based learning in general.