Exploring students' learning management system acceptance patterns: Antecedents and consequences of profile membership

Abstract

Although numerous studies have revealed various mechanisms involved in users' technology acceptance behaviors, the literature lacks insights about distinct profiles of teenagers' e-learning technology acceptance and how these profiles are associated with teenagers' contextual backgrounds and continued technology use. This study fills this gap by unpacking teenagers' learning management system (LMS) acceptance patterns through three-step latent profile analysis (LPA). The results of LPA on a survey of 1180 junior secondary students from 25 Hong Kong school identified three profiles, namely: Reluctant Pattern (8%), Embracing Pattern (61%), and Affirmative Pattern (31%), with ascending acceptance of LMS. A number of contextual factors were identified as antecedents of LMS acceptance, including school factors (i.e., school banding), family factors (i.e., family socio-economic status (SES), family environment, and both parents' parenting styles), and personal factors (i.e., gender, experience, conceptions of learning, and ICT literacy). All the antecedents were significantly associated with profile membership, except for family SES and experience. In addition, the three acceptance patterns also affected consequences of LMS acceptance, represented by LMS continued use and use satisfaction. Students from Affirmative Pattern had higher satisfaction and more intensive LMS use than other acceptance patterns. The findings of this study not only contribute to theory through the development of teenagers' different latent profiles of LMS acceptance and relating these profiles to teenagers' contextual characteristics and LMS continued use, but also provide strong implications for future research on teenagers’ e-learning technology use and for practitioners to improve LMS implementation and LMS use among teenagers.