Regulatory and Management Support in the Adoption of Cloud Technologies among Teachers: A Theory of Reasoned Action Approach

Abstract

Cloud technology is an innovation that is revolutionizing the educational landscape through its flexibility, scalability, accessibility and relative low acquisition costs. For this technology to succeed, academic institutions must ensure that it is widely understood and adopted by the various stakeholders of the education industry. While extant research focused primarily in the adoption of cloud technology in the purview of students, this study captures an equally important perspective through investigating the effects of support from management and regulation and its influence in cloud adoption from the standpoint of teachers. Using the Theory of Reasoned Action, a validated scale was administered to 176 teachers and a Partial Least Square Structural Equation Model was applied to test a set of hypotheses. Subjective norms and attitude have a positive influence on the behavioral intention to use cloud-based educational platforms and subjective norms has a direct and significant influence on attitude. Additionally, management support has positive influence on the behavioral intention to use cloud technology. Contrary to prior research, this study finds no significant relationship between regulatory support and the intention to use cloud-based educational platforms. We discuss the limitations of this study while outlining the various implications of our study and future scholarly opportunities.