Does e-learning service quality influence e-learning student satisfaction and loyalty? Evidence from Vietnam

Long Pham,Yam B Limbu,Huong T Pham,Hien T Nguyen,Trung K Bui

doi:10.1186/s41239-019-0136-3

Abstract

Prior studies on e-learning service quality were conducted mainly in developed countries; however, little effort has been made in emerging countries. This study examines the relationships among e-learning service quality attributes, overall e-learning service quality, e-learning student satisfaction, and e-learning student loyalty in the context of Vietnam, an emerging country. Survey data collected from 1232 college students were analyzed by means of exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and structural equation modeling using SPSS 25 and SmartPLS 3.0. The results indicated that e-learning service quality was a second-order construct comprising of three factors, namely, e-learning system quality, e-learning instructor and course materials quality, and e-learning administrative and support service quality. The e-learning system quality was the most important dimension of overall e-learning service quality, followed by e-learning instructor and course materials quality, and e-learning administrative and support service quality. In addition, the overall e-learning service quality was positively related to e-learning student satisfaction, which in turn positively influences e-learning student loyalty. Also, overall e-learning service quality has a direct effect on e-learning student loyalty. Implications for colleges and universities are discussed.

Highlights

The relationship between student loyalty and the factors that lead to loyalty have been studied extensively in the traditional educational environment where interactions between students and instructors take place directly in physical classrooms on campus (Martinez-Arguelles & Batalla-Busquets, 2016)
The purpose of this study is to examine the relationships among e-learning service quality attributes, overall e-learning service quality, e-learning student satisfaction, and e-learning student loyalty in the context of e-learning in Vietnam
Confirmatory factor analysis for e-learning service quality dimensions Because the e-learning service quality attributes extracted above were exploratory, it was necessary to carry out a confirmatory factor analysis for these e-learning service quality attributes before testing hypotheses

Summary

Introduction

The relationship between student loyalty and the factors that lead to loyalty have been studied extensively in the traditional educational environment where interactions between students and instructors take place directly in physical classrooms on campus (Martinez-Arguelles & Batalla-Busquets, 2016). Advances in information and communication technology (ICT) are changing all industries and sectors (Jun & Cai, 2001); higher education is no exception (Chow & Shi, 2014). E-learning is becoming increasingly popular in high education (Tsai, Shen, & Chiang, 2013; Wu, 2016) as the applications of ICT continue to provide a variety of teaching and learning options for faculty and students (Sarabadani, Jafarzadeh, & ShamiZanjani, 2017). Pham et al International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education (2019) 16:7 use of modern ICT and computers connected to the Internet to provide teaching and learning contents (Beqiri, Chase, & Bishka, 2010). E-learning helps universities become more digitized and contribute to the formation of a digital and knowledgeable society where learning and knowledge sharing can be conducted in a simple and fast way at anytime in anywhere with the help of Internet enabled technologies (Taylor, 2007)

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