STUDENT USE BEHAVIOR IN DETERMINING MAJORS: IS IT DETERMINED BY SELF-CONGRUITY, SOCIAL INFLUENCE, INFORMATION USEFULNESS, THROUGH MEDIATING INFORMATION ADOPTION, AND BEHAVIORAL INTENTIONS

Abstract

Purpose: This studied investigates factors influencing students’ Use Behavior (UB) through Self-Congruity (SC), Social Influence (SI), and Information Usefulness (IU), focusing on direct and mediating variables Behavioral Intention (BI) and Information Adoption (IA). Method: The studied involved 400 12th-grade students, who were selected using simple random sampling and validated used SEM-PLS, confirming the researched hypothesis. The research using simple random sampling. Grade 12 students are crucial for higher education and career decisions. The study included 223 public school and 177 private school students, with 400 students from each stratum, based on the Slovin formula. The researcher contacted foundation owners and school administrators via social media to distribute survey links, collecting 476 questionnaires from 234 private and 242 public schools. Erroneous data was corrected, including participants not in grade 12 or high school, those not yet choosing their tertiary education major, and those who remained vague. Result: This studied found that the variables SC, SI, and BI had a positive and significant influence on students’ UB. Meanwhile, the variable IU had not performed as planned. However, it was possible to raised BI through IA mediation, which eventually boosts students’ UB. Conclusion: This studied offers a fresh theoretical perspective on students’ UB and valuable insights for university administrators. IA helps students internalize new information by linking concepts, forming a complex network of knowledge, understanding meaning, and applying it in various contexts. There was also discussion of limitations and potential researched directions.