Do Technological and Course‐Related Variables Impact Undergraduates’ Perceived Favorability and Willingness to Recommend Online/Hybrid Business Courses?

Abstract

ABSTRACTLower teaching evaluations can affect students’ willingness to recommend an online course. To maintain online course quality, it is important to keep the “integrity” of a course, that is, offer to the extent possible, the same content and learning outcomes in an online course as the face‐to‐face (F2F) equivalent. This study explored the impact of background, technological, and course‐related variables on perceived favorability of online (versus F2F) courses and willingness to recommend courses using two independent “mixed course format” samples of business undergraduates, that is, simultaneously taking online/hybrid and F2F courses. Participants were recruited based on their enrollment in at least one online or hybrid course. A complete data sample of 259 students filled out an online survey in the Fall 2015 semester, followed by a second independent sample of 269 students in the Spring 2016 semester. Hierarchical regression results showed that after controlling for background variables, one course‐related variable (instructor effectiveness) and one technological‐related (perceived ease of use) consistently explained perceived favorability of online (versus F2F) courses across both samples. For the willingness to recommend courses, after controlling for background variables, both course‐related variables (instructor effectiveness and student motivation) and the perceived favorability of the online course were each significant across both samples.