TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION AND CONTINUANCE OF MOOCS: A SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE REVIEW, SYNTHESIS AND FUTURE RESEARCH AGENDA

Abstract

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have garnered a lot of attention and interest from academia and industry. The proliferation of MOOC platforms has opened up immense opportunities for fulfilling learner needs and improve the education landscape. It is important to understand the drivers of MOOC adoption to ensure its complete utilization. Research on MOOC adoption, acceptance, usage and continuance has increased over a period of time. With this regard, the purpose of this study was to review and synthesize the research on MOOC adoption using a structured and domain-based approach in order to understand its state-of-the-art literature. Seventy empirical articles indexed in Scopus or Web of Science were identified and reviewed systematically using the Theories, Context, Characteristics, and Methods (TCCM) framework. Systematic mapping of studies was taken place to determine the year-wise publications, journal quality, citations, widely used theories, the context in terms of MOOC platforms and country of research, characteristics in terms of widely used constructs, and hypothesized relationships. The systematic literature review highlights Technology Acceptance Model is the dominant model applied in the MOOC adoption research. Further research on MOOC adoption is seen majorly in Asian economies with narrow focus on developed economies. Although several review studies have taken place on MOOC, their focus has been on the quality, pedagogical or user perspective. This study is the first effort in synthesizing the state-of-the-art literature on MOOC adoption. Future avenues of research are suggested in terms of Theories, Context, Characteristics and Methods to further the theoretical and practical knowledge on MOOC adoption.