Adoption of mobile social networking sites for learning?

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the factors that influence users’ behavioral intention (BI) to adopt mobile social networking sites (mSNS) in facilitating formal/informal learning. Specifically, the study also investigates the association of mobility, reachability and convenience with performance expectancy (PE) and effort expectancy (EE).

Design/methodology/approach

Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) approach was applied to test on 266 valid responses.

Findings

The findings indicated that learning compatibility (LC), PE, EE and copyright clearance (CC) has a significant effect on BI. The results also revealed that EE is influenced by mobility, reachability and convenience. PE however was found to be influenced by convenience.

Practical implications

The results of this study provides valuable insights and references for practitioners and mobile network providers in developing mSNS in facilitating learning.

Originality/value

While mSNS have the potential to become a new research area with numerous benefits for the learning community, there is little research on the adoption factors on mSNS in facilitating learning. This study therefore attempts to close the research gap by contributing to the mobile literatures.

Citation

Wong, C.-H., Tan, G.W.-H., Loke, S.-P. and Ooi, K.-B. (2015), "Adoption of mobile social networking sites for learning?", Online Information Review, Vol. 39 No. 6, pp. 762-778. https://doi.org/10.1108/OIR-05-2015-0152