The Effect of Individual Factors Mediated by Trust and Moderated by IT Knowledge on Students’ Adoption of Cloud Based E-learning

Abstract

Usage and adoption of cloud computing (CC) outperform its usage in educational institutions. Studies that are related to the adoption of cloud based e-learning (CBEL) are limited. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of individual factors (PE, EE, SI, and SA) on the BI to adopt CBEL. It also aims to test the mediating effect of TR and the moderating effect of ITK. The population of this study is student from four Lebanese universities. Stratified random sampling was deployed. A total of 422 complete and usable responses were collected and data was analyzed using Partial Least Square (PLS). Individual factors affect significantly the BI toward CBEL. SA is the most important determinant followed by PE, SI and EE. BI affects positively the UB and TR partial mediates the effect of individual factors on BI while ITK does not moderate this effect. This study tested the UTAUT in CBEL and it included TR and ITK with UTAUT. The study also enriched the literature in the developing countries and the literature of CBEL