The Mediating Effects of Innovativeness and System Usability on Students’ Personality Differences: Recommendations for E-Learning Platforms in the Post-Pandemic Era

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic forced higher education institutions to adopt e-learning systems to ensure continuous teaching and learning; however, this paradigm shift challenged students’ learning processes and is considered unsuitable for continuous use. Thus, a model was developed and experimentally verified in the current study to determine the factors that influence students’ uptaking of e-learning in the post-pandemic era. The Delphi method was employed to conceptualize the research framework, and structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to explore personality traits. The research model was then empirically tested by using data from 438 valid responses. The results showed that all personality traits, except for conscientiousness, significantly influenced the adoption of e-learning. The most decisive influencing trait was found to be extroversion (r = 0.756), whereas the trait that was found to have the most negligible impact was agreeableness (r = 0.305). Personal innovativeness and system usability were both found to highly correlate with a willingness to adopt e-learning. Except for the indirect effect of conscientiousness on the adoption of e-learning through system usability, all other personality traits were found to significantly mediate the adoption of e-learning through personal innovativeness and system usability. The results of this study could inspire stakeholders in the field of education, particularly e-learning platform designers, to consider students’ personality traits and individual differences in the design of e-learning platforms, with the goal of increasing students’ willingness and ability to adapt to these systems. The current study provides a contemporary perspective on the actions of e-learning users in the post-pandemic era.