FACTORS INFLUENCING INTENTION TO USE E-LEARNING BY AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION AGENTS IN MALAYSIA

Authors

  • Safaie Mangir School of Technology Management and Logistics, College of Business, Universiti Utara Malaysia
  • Zakirah Othman School of Technology Management and Logistics, College of Business, Universiti Utara Malaysia
  • Zulkifli Mohamed Udin School of Technology Management and Logistics, College of Business, Universiti Utara Malaysia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.32890/jtom2017.0.0.9497

Abstract

The application of e-learning has extended beyond the traditional educational establishments to various other areas including agricultural sector. In agricultural sector, extension services are perhaps the key beneficiary of e-learning, being in the unique position as an intermediary between agricultural specialists and farmers. Hence the objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, management support and training; and the intention to use e-learning technology among agricultural extension agents in Malaysian agricultural sector. This quantitative study was based on Theory of Planned Behavior with management support and training as additional constructs. While there were many studies that investigated factors affecting intention to use e-learning in educational institutions, there were limited studies of the same in the context of extension agents in agriculture setting. The results showed that all of the hypotheses developed by the previous authors were supported by the study, and further revealed that management support is the most important determinant of agricultural extension agent’s intention to use e-learning, followed by attitude. Finally, the implications of this study were discussed, and further research directions were proposed.

Metrics

Metrics Loading ...

References

Afzal, A., Al-Subaiee, F., & Mirza, A. (2016). The Attitudes of Agricultural Extension Workers towards the Use of E-Extension for Ensuring Sustainability in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Sustainability, 8(10), 980. http://doi.org/10.3390/su8100980.
Agarwal, H., & Kumar‏, A. (2013). E-learning for agriculture education in India‏. International Journal of Research in Engineering and Technology‏, 101–104. Retrieved from http://ijrset.org/Volumes/V02/I12/IJRET_110212017.pdf.
Ahmadpour, A., Mirdamadi, M., Hosseini, J. F., & Chizari, M. (2010). Factors affecting the development of electronic learning in agricultural extension network in Iran. Middle-East Journal of Scientific Research, 5(4), 261–267.
Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50, 179–211. http://doi.org/10.1016/0749-5978(91)90020-T.
Al-Haderi, S. (2014). The Influences of Government Support in Accepting the Information Technology in Public Organization Culture. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 5(5), 118–124.
Ali, J., & Kumar, S. (2011). Information and communication technologies (ICTs) and farmers’ decision-making across the agricultural supply chain. International Journal of Information Management, 31(2), 149–159. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2010.07.008.
Anderson, J. C., & Gerbing, D. W. (1988). Structural Equation Modeling in Practice: A Review and Recommended Two-Step Approach. Psychological Bulletin, 103(3), 411–423. http://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.103.3.411.
Bhuasiri, W., Xaymoungkhoun, O., Zo, H., Rho, J. J., & Ciganek, A. P. (2012). Critical success factors for e-learning in developing countries: A comparative analysis between ICT experts and faculty. Computers and Education, 58(2), 843–855. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2011.10.010.
Brown, K. G., & Charlier, S. D. (2013). An integrative model of e-learning use: Leveraging theory to understand and increase usage. Human Resource Management Review, 23(1), 37–49. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.hrmr.2012.06.004.
Cheng, H. H., & Huang, S. W. (2013). Exploring antecedents and consequence of online group-buying intention: An extended perspective on theory of planned behavior. International Journal of Information Management, 33(1), 185–198. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2012.09.003.
Chu, T. H., & Chen, Y. Y. (2015). With good we become good: Understanding e-learning adoption by theory of planned behavior and group influences. Computers & Education, 92–93, 37–52. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2015.09.013.
Clark, R. C., & Mayer, R. E. (2011). E-learning and the science of Instruction: Proven guidelines for consumers and designers of multimedia learning. Hoboken, NJ: Pfeiffer.
Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical Power for the Behavioral Sciences. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Davis, F. D. (1989). Perceived usefulness , perceived ease of use , and user acceptance. MIS Quarterly, 13(3), 319–339. http://doi.org/10.2307/249008.
Fishbein, M., & Ajzen, I. (1975). Belief, attitude, intentions and behaviour: An introduction to theory and research.
Fornell, C., & Larker, D. (1981). Evaluating Structural Equation Models with Unobserved variables and Measurement Error. Journal of Marketing Research.
Geisser, S. (1974). A predictive approach to the random effect model. Biometrika, 61(1), 101–107. http://doi.org/10.1093/biomet/61.1.101.
Hair, J. F., Anderson, R. E., Tatham, R. L., & Black, W. C. (1998). Multivariate data analysis (5th ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Hashim, H., & Tasir, Z. (2014). E-learning readiness: A literature review. Proceedings - 2014 International Conference on Teaching and Learning in Computing and Engineering, LATICE 2014, (April 2014), 267–271. http://doi.org/10.1109/LaTiCE.2014.58.
Henseler, J., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2014). A new criterion for assessing discriminant validity in variance-based structural equation modeling. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 43(1), 115–135. http://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-014-0403-8.
Henseler, J., Ringle, C. M., & Sinkovics, R. R. (2009). The use of partial least squares path modeling in international marketing. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 29(3), 318–319. http://doi.org/10.1016/0167-8116(92)90003-4.
Kline, R. B. (2011). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling. Structural Equation Modeling (3rd Editio, Vol. 156). Guilford Publications. http://doi.org/10.1038/156278a0.
Lee, Y. C. (2008). The role of perceived resources in online learning adoption. Computers and Education, 50(4), 1423–1438. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2007.01.001.
Lin, P. C., Lu, H. K., & Liu, S. C. (2013). Towards an education behavioral intention model for e-learning systems: An extension of UTAUT. Journal of Theoretical and Applied Information Technology, 47(3), 1200–1207.
Ndubisi, N. O. (2004). Factors influencing e-learning adoption intention : Examining the determinant structure of the decomposed theory of planned behaviour constructs. HERDSA 2004 Conference Proceedings, 252–262.
Pantano, E., & Di Pietro, L. (2012). Understanding consumer’s acceptance of technology-based innovations in retailing. Journal of Technology Management and Innovation, 7(4), 1–19. http://doi.org/10.4067/S0718-27242012000400001.
Ringle, C. M., Wende, S., & Becker, J. M. (2015). SmartPLS 3. Boenningstedt: SmartPLS GmbH.
Sawang, S., Sun, Y., & Salim, S. A. (2014). It’s not only what I think but what they think! The moderating effect of social norms. Computers & Education, 76, 182–189. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2014.03.017.
Sekaran, U. (2003). Research methods for business- A skill-building approach. Retrieved from http://www.wiley.com/college.
Shiue, Y. M. (2007). Investigating the sources of teachers’ instructional technology use through the decomposed theory of planned behavior. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 36(4), 425–453. http://doi.org/10.2190/A407-22RR-50X6-2830.
Stone, M. (1974). Cross-Validatory Choice and Assessment of Statistical Predictions. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, 36(2), 111–147. http://doi.org/10.2307/2984809.
Taylor, S., & Todd, P. (1995a). Understanding information technology usage: A test of competing models. Information Systems Research, 6(2), 144–176.
Taylor, S., & Todd, P. (1995b). Decomposition and crossover effects in the theory of planned behavior: A study of consumer adoption intentions. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 12(2), 137–155. http://doi.org/10.1016/0167-8116(94)00019-
Venkatesh, V., & Davis, F. (2000). A theoretical extension of the technology acceptance model: Four longitudinal field studies. Management Science, 46(2), 186–204. http://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.46.2.186.11926.
Vyas, N., & Nirban, V. S. (2014). Students’ perception on the effectiveness of mobile learning in an institutional context. ELT Research Journal, 26–36.
Yoo, S. J., & Huang, W. D. (2015). Can e-learning system enhance learning culture in the workplace? A comparison among companies in South Korea. British Journal of Educational Technology, n/a-n/a. http://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.12240.
Yunus, Y., & Salim, J. (2013). E-learning evaluation in Malaysian public sector from the pedagogical perspective: Towards e-learning effectiveness. Journal of Theoretical and Applied Information Technology, 51(2), 201–210.

Downloads

Published

28-05-2017

How to Cite

Mangir, S., Othman, Z., & Mohamed Udin, Z. (2017). FACTORS INFLUENCING INTENTION TO USE E-LEARNING BY AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION AGENTS IN MALAYSIA. Journal of Technology and Operations Management, 89–98. https://doi.org/10.32890/jtom2017.0.0.9497

Most read articles by the same author(s)