The moderating effect of gender and age on the students’ acceptance of learning management systems in Saudi higher education

Abstract

Despite the widespread adoption of learning management systems (LMS) by universities worldwide, it has been found that the students’ use of them is not always optimal. Based on the technology acceptance model (TAM), this quantitative research aims to examine the factors that impact the students’ utilisation of LMS in higher-educational institutions in Saudi Arabia. Further, this study investigates the moderating effect of gender and age on the students’ behaviour toward LMS. A total of 851 online surveys were submitted by students registered in three Saudi universities, and 833 responses were used for data analysis. The collected data were analysed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) along with multigroup analysis (MGA). The results revealed that gender moderates the relationship between content quality and perceived ease of use. However, the findings also confirmed that age has no moderating influence on the students’ use of LMS. The results obtained and implications of the study are discussed.