Online learning adoption: effects of neuroticism, openness to experience, and perceived values

Individual differences and perceived values of technology have received much attention in technology adoption literature. However, there is a lack of understanding of their relationships and effects on online learning adoption. The study aims to investigate the effects of two important personality traits (i.e. openness to experience and neuroticism) and five perceived values (i.e. functional value, emotional value, social value, epistemic value and conditional value) on students’ intentions to adopt online learning.

A survey research method was used to collect information from university students. A sample size of 285 was used for data analysis. Structural equation modeling analysis using analysis of moment structure software was used to examine the construct reliability and validity, the model-fit indices and the causal relationships between latent constructs in the proposed framework.

The results show that neuroticism and openness to experience affect students’ intentions to adopt online learning through five perceived values of online learning. Particularly, students who are open to experience pay more attention to the quality of online learning. Students who are more neurotic avoid stress from learning in a situation that they are not familiar with. In addition, students tend to adopt online learning when they perceive online learning fulfills their emotional and social needs. Further discussions of the findings and implications for theory and practice are provided.

The study extends knowledge and understanding of online learning adoption associated with individual personality and perception of online learning’s values. It proposed a new framework to examine the effects of neuroticism, openness to experience and perceived values on online learning adoption. Universities might use the study results to plan and implement their online learning programs that will be considered valuable for students who have different personality traits.