The Influence of Convenience on the Usage of Learning Management System

Abstract

The advancement in internet-based learning technologies together with the national agenda towards globalized online education in Malaysia have prompted the learning management system (LMS) to become an important channel for institutions of higher education to effectively deliver education to students. Since user resistance has been known to be a stumbling block in the implementation of the LMS, it is crucial for the institutions to acknowledge that comprehensive adoption by users relies heavily on user acceptance. Moreover, since some institutions may have even made it compulsory for students to use the LMS, user acceptance of the LMS should be studied in the sense that using LMS is likable and pleasurable. Although the features of the technical capability of the LMS are important, it has been asserted that having the feeling of personal convenience when using the LMS is even more important to the users. With the amount of financial effort and manpower involved in implementing the LMS by institutions in Malaysia towards fulfilling the online learning agenda of the nation, it is important to study whether the convenience factor as an individual impact can play the partial role of influencing Malaysian students’ satisfaction of the LMS which would in turn influence them to use the LMS. Based on the Information System Success Model by DeLone and McLean, this study establishes vital process factors regarding the LMS usage among university students in Malaysia. Hence, in this study, LMS usage by students is measured by the degree of students’ acceptance of the LMS. An online survey has been done to collect data from 212 students of two large public universities in Malaysia. Structural equation modeling has been used to test the relationships in the conceptual model. The results of data analysis using the PLS-SEM technique employed in the study have indicated that student satisfaction is positively influenced by factors of information quality, system quality, service quality and convenience. LMS usage has been found to be positively impacted by student satisfaction while student satisfaction has been found to have significant mediation effect. The findings from this study can be utilized by institutions committed towards having successful implementation of the LMS. In enhancing LMS usage by the students, the institutions of higher education can consider focusing on the necessary steps towards increasing student satisfaction. Meanwhile, to increase student satisfaction, apart from improving the information quality, system quality and service quality, institutions should also seriously consider promoting the LMS to the students by highlighting the individual impact of the LMS in terms of convenience.