Internet cognitive failure relevant to users' satisfaction with content and interface design to reflect continuance intention to use a government e-learning system

Highlights

• Internet cognitive failure reduces satisfaction with content of e-learning system.

• Internet cognitive failure reduces satisfaction with interface design.

• A high level of perceived utility increases users' continuance intention to re-use.

• Internet cognitive failure can explain difference in willingness to use e-learning.

Abstract

Government e-learning systems have been established for employees in public sectors. To understand the effectiveness of using the systems, the present study focused on the content and interface design of a government e-learning system in Taiwan to explore factors relevant to users' continuance intention to use the system. Data from 150 effective questionnaires were returned for confirmatory factor analysis with structural equation modeling. The results showed that if the users have a high level of Internet cognitive failure, they will have low satisfaction with the content design and interface design of the e-learning system. The results also showed that if users are satisfied with the content design and interface design, they will perceive utility value. Finally, if the users perceive utility value, they will have continuance intention to use the government e-learning system. The results of this study implied that the psychological trait, Internet cognitive failure, plays an essential role for determining the usage of a government e-learning system. In addition, when designing government e-learning systems and deciding where to expend efforts, one should consider how the content and interface design interacts with behavioral intention mediated by utility value.

Introduction

Electronic learning (e-learning), a new approach in education, highlights learner-oriented and life-long teaching/learning processes (Ong, Lai, & Wang, 2004). E-learning systems can be used anytime and anywhere, and knowledge sharing and learning through the Internet can increase users' motivation to learn. E-learning also allows on-job-training to be extended to diverse and geographically dispersed workforces in a cost-efficient manner and can be implemented on-demand and at a lower cost than on-site learning (Lee, Hsieh, & Ma, 2011). Nevertheless, a survey on the use of e-learning conducted by the National Science and Technology Master Plan Program of e-learning (Taiwan Institute for the Information Industry, 2012), revealed that there was a low ratio of active adult users of government e-learning systems and the users experienced poor learning satisfaction. Stoffregen, Pawlowski, and Pirkkalainen (2015) in reviewing e-learning barriers also found there is a gap between satisfaction with system and usage expectancy when introducing e-learning in public sectors. Thus, the question arises as to why users were not satisfied with the government e-learning systems. Although the aforementioned e-learning survey reported low user satisfaction in general, there may be some users who are satisfied, and this implies that individual experiences can enable one to be more or less satisfied regarding their utility perception and attitude towards e-learning (Johnson & Sinatra, 2013).

Whereas research on the acceptance of novel technologies has primarily centered on cognitive dimensions, awareness of the importance of affective dimensions of design in relation to perceptions of utility is growing (Cyr, Head, & Ivanov, 2009). A cognitive-affective model for explaining satisfaction with or acceptance of novel technologies has been highly influential in interface design (Bhattacherjee, 2001a); however, recent research has shown that interface design alone cannot fully explain empirical findings about the perception and use of technologies for learning (Coursaris & van Osch, 2016). In this research, user satisfaction encompassed satisfaction with interface design and also satisfaction with content design. That is, rather than building on either cognitive or affective explanations of user satisfaction, the research model proposed aimed to capture both interfaced design and content design, to construct a more accurate representation of user satisfaction.

Cognitive failure could be the result of internal thoughts (e.g. mind wandering) or external distractions (Broadbent, Cooper, Fitzgerald, & Parkes, 1982). As electronic texts are not static like printed books and magazines (Robinson, 2010), greater effort is required to grasp the information that is presented. When comparing the difference between reading e-learning contents to printed contents, Daniel and Woody (2013) found that it took students significantly more time to read e-learning contents. As a psychological trait, internet cognitive failure has been found to be negatively correlated to users' learning interest when using social media for learning (Authors, 2016). Despite this, the cognitive theory of multimedia learning (CTML) (Mayer, 2005) has highlighted that multimedia facilitates meaningful contexts (Ertmer & Newby, 1993) and Internet usage can enhance student interest by presenting well-designed instructional messages that support cognitive development. Thus, whether internet cognitive failure could also affect users' satisfaction with the interface design and content design of a government e-learning system was the interest of this study.

Perceived effectiveness (i.e. a technology's effect on job performance and enhancing utilitarian value) also plays a pivotal role in users' acceptance of a technology (Coursaris and van Osch, 2016, Coursaris et al., 2012). Utility could be considered a mediator in the relationship between satisfaction and behavioral intention (c.f., Bhattacherjee, 2001a). Johnson and Sinatra (2013) noted that a user's perception in the utility condition demonstrated the greatest degree of facilitating engagement in future tasks. Pereira, Ramos, Gouvêa, and da Costa (2015) studied educational multimedia in public sectors and showed that quality, value, satisfaction and use intention were positively correlated. Thus, this study attempted to examine how individual Internet cognitive failure interacted with satisfaction with content design (SCD) and interface design (SID) to bond to participants' perceived utility value and their continuance intention to use the an government e-learning system.