6.5 Factors Influencing Use of Web 2.0 Technologies for TAL
6.5.1 System Quality, Information Quality and Service Quality
174
Correspondingly, it was discovered from the qualitative findings of this study (see Section 5.4.2) that the use of Web 2.0 technologies had improved significantly within the last 5-6 years of their use within the university community in the two universities surveyed. Findings also revealed that Web 2.0 technologies such as Wikipedia, YouTube, Facebook, blogs and Google+ were the ones popularly used for TAL purposes. The general use of the common Web 2.0 technologies may be attributed to easy access through mobile phones, tablets, laptop and any other portable devices connected to the internet.
175
variables of service quality, system quality and information quality have a joint significant influence (p<0.05) on academics‟ attitude towards the use of Web 2.0 for teaching purposes.
According to Davis, Bagozzi and Warshaw (1989), attitude enthuses adoption and use of technological tools. Lwoga (2013) found that the quality factors did influence attitude and behaviour of academics (specifically librarians) towards the use of Web 2.0 technologies.
However, findings of the study showed that system quality did not significantly (p>0.05) influence academics‟ attitude towards the use of Web 2.0 technologies for teaching purposes.
This suggests that only the two quality factors of the D&M model service quality and information quality majorly influenced academics‟ attitude to the use of Web 2.0 technologies for teaching purposes.
Similarly, findings of the study revealed that service quality, system quality and information quality have a joint significant influence (p<0.05) on students‟ attitude towards the use of Web 2.0 for teaching purposes. However, the current findings showed that system quality did not significantly (p>0.05) influence students‟ attitude towards use of Web 2.0 technologies for teaching purposes. This again suggests that only the two quality factors of the D&M model (information quality and service quality) majorly influenced students‟ attitude to the use of Web 2.0 technologies for teaching purposes. The hypothesis corresponding research Question Three is therefore rejected. This indicates that a significant relationship exists between system quality, information quality, service quality and attitude towards the use of Web 2.0 technologies for TAL purposes respectively.
Existing literature reveals that service quality and information quality variables of the D&M model are important factors in delivering technology-based services to users (Cheng 2012; Lee and Yang 2013; Kallweit, Spreer and Toporowski 2014 and Demirci and Kara 2014). For instance, Kallweit, Spreer and Toporowski (2014) found that attitude had a significant and positive impact (β4=0.669; p<0.001) on the perceived service quality of self-service information technologies in retail business. Similarly, service quality was found by Lee and Yang (2013) to be a predictor of the intention to use self-service information technologies. In addition Ellahi and Bokhari (2013) evaluated the quality factors of SNSs from users' perspective and examined their influence on influencing users' perceptions. The study found that perceived quality had a direct and intense effect on the degree of the user‟s perception about website quality.
176
Likewise, previous studies such as Petter, DeLone and McLean (2008), Petter and McLean (2009), Halonen, Acton, Golden and Conboy (2009), Masrek, Jamaludin and Mukhtar (2010), Urbach and Müller (2012), Cheng (2012) and Lwoga (2013) (discussed in Section 3.4.2) revealed that information quality had significant positive impacts on perceived usefulness and use and user satisfaction. In the same vein, Butler (2001) had previously pointed out that a higher quality (be it information, service or system quality) will increase users' positive attitudes. Lin (2008) found that higher system and information quality actually increased user satisfaction. User satisfaction generally has been found to lead to increased positive attitude towards the use of information technologies such as the Web 2.0. Zheng, Zhao and Stylianou (2013) in an investigation on the influence of information quality and system quality on users' continuance intention to participate in “Virtual Communities” found that user satisfaction (R2 = 69.6%) essentially depended on information quality, system quality and individual benefits. User satisfaction was identified by Zheng, Zhao and Stylianou (2013) as one of the noticeable factors that measured user‟s attitude. Liu, Arnett and Litecky (2000) found that a well-designed website would generate favorable attitude toward the website and its products.
Evidently, IS and Web 2.0 technologies with good service quality and information quality will attract favourable attitude from users.
The findings of the current study showed that information quality and service quality had considerable influence on academics and students‟ attitude to use of Web 2.0 technologies, particularly for TAL purposes. This result is perhaps due to the benefits that can be derived from the use of Web 2.0 technologies such as Wikipedia, Facebook and YouTube in education.
Another reason could be attributed to the popularity of the tools as they were found to be more commonly used by academics and students than some other Web 2.0 technologies. This affirmed the findings of Butler (2001), Olatokun and Owoeye (2012), Zheng, Zhao and Stylianou (2013), Lwoga (2013) and Ellahi and Bokhari (2013) that service quality and information quality are important predictors of attitude to use technologies.
Again, Lwoga (2013) emphasized the key role service quality played on users‟ usage intention by revealing that service quality (among other qualities such as information quality and system quality) had the strongest effect on intention to reuse Library 2.0 among undergraduate university students in Tanzania. Makokha and Ochieng (2014) in a study in Kenya found that service quality in the D&M model has a significant impact on use and user satisfaction. Further
177
findings from Ramayah and Lee (2012) showed the positive impact of service quality (β = 0.30, p < 0.01) on continuance intention to use the e-learning systems in Malaysia. Although Olatokun and Owoeye (2012) focused on users of online banking, the present study is similar in terms of the finding on the location of study which is Nigeria. Both studies found positive and significant influence of service quality construct on users‟ attitude towards use of ISs (specifically online technologies). Thus, it can be deduced from the findings that the more users gain understanding and support on the use of Web 2.0 technologies and other ISs, the more a positive attitude is developed towards using these tools.
In addition, the findings showed that most academics and students concurred that information quality had a positive influence on the use of Web 2.0 technologies for TAL purposes. For instance, the majority of academics (up to 87%) strongly agreed or agreed that Web 2.0 technologies made it easy for them to prepare teaching materials; provided them with sufficient information for teaching; provided meaningful and up-to-date information; allowed information to be accurately presented; and enabled timely transfer and reception of information. Similarly, the findings showed that the majority of students (up to 86%) strongly agreed or agreed that Web 2.0 technologies: made it easy for them to obtain learning materials;
provided them with sufficient information for learning; provided meaningful and up-to-date information; allowed information to be accurately presented; and enabled timely transfer and reception of information. This indicates that most students agreed that information quality had a positive influence on use the of Web 2.0 technologies for learning purposes. The results suggest that information quality has a positive influence on use of Web 2.0 technologies for TAL. Likewise these findings imply that information quality factors such as availability, relevance, timeliness, usability, information reliability, understandability, accuracy, precision, completeness, currency, personalization and security (Delone and Mclean 2004; Masrek, Jamaludin and Mukhtar 2010; Okechi and Kepeghom 2013; and Lwoga 2014) and measures of service quality such as efficiency, ease of use, system functionality, security, responsiveness, assurance, reliability, empathy and user friendliness (DeLone and McLean 2003; Hasan and Ilias 2008; Ozkan and Koseler 2009; and Ellahi and Bokhari (2013) influenced academics and students‟ attitude towards the use of Web 2.0 technologies for TAL. These results suggest that proper awareness of ICTs will encourage the use of Web 2.0 for TAL purposes.
178
A number of previous studies (DeLone and McLean 2003; Holsapple and Lee-Post 2006; Lin 2008; Butler 2001; Olatokun and Owoeye 2012; Zeng, Zhao and Stylianou 2013; Lwoga 2013;
and Ellahi and Bokhari 2013) arrived at the conclusion that information quality is an indispensible factor in determining use and success of IS. However, the effect of information quality on the attitude towards use of IS was not considered in many of the previous studies.
Similarly, much existing literature on service quality mostly focuses on effect or impact of attitude towards system use; use intention or behaviour, net benefits and users satisfaction (Ham and Hayduk 2003; Hasan and Ilias 2008; Tella 2011; Ramayah and Lee 2012; Lwoga 2013; and Ndanusa, Harada and Abdullateef 2014). The findings of the present study in respect of service quality confirm the findings of Olatokun and Owoeye (2012) and Lwoga‟s (2014b) on the significance of service quality constructs on users attitude. They found that technical guidance and support (one of the matrix for measuring service quality) enhanced service quality and students‟ technology acceptance (Lwoga 2014a and Harshorne and Ajjan 2009).
Findings on service quality also showed that the majority of the academics and students agreed that service quality had a positive influence on the use of Web 2.0 technologies for TAL respectively. This may indicate that academics and students have developed strong interest in the use of Web 2.0 technologies.
System quality is regarded as a multidimensional construct that offers explanation for the usability and performance characteristics of a system, including Web 2.0 technologies (Bhatti, Baile and Yasin 2011 and Urbach and Muller 2011). The current study, as in several previous studies, considered system quality to include among other things ease of use, perceived usefulness, usability, convenience of access, availability, reliability, response time and accessibility (Delone and Mclean 2003; DeLone and McLean 2004; Trkman and Trkman 2009;
Wang and Wang 2010; Lin 2010; Lawrence 2011; Bhatti, Baile and Yasin 2011; Chua, Goh and Ang 2012 and Lwoga 2013). The findings in the current study revealed that the majority of academics (up to 89%) strongly agreed or agreed that they found Web 2.0 technologies easy to use; easy to collaborate with colleagues; reliable and useful for teaching; and helped to accomplish teaching tasks more quickly. Likewise, the current study revealed that most students (up to 88%) strongly agreed or agreed that Web 2.0 technologies were easy to use, easy to collaborate with colleagues; reliable and useful for learning; and helped them to accomplish learning tasks more quickly. Notably, responses from the majority of the
179
respondents suggested that all the measures of system quality would have positive influence on use of Web 2.0 technologies for TAL purposes.
Surprisingly, the findings from the regression analysis presented in Tables 15a and 15b revealed that the system quality variable in the D&M model had no significant influence on users‟ attitude towards use of Web 2.0 for TAL purposes respectively. This is in sharp contrast with previous studies (Delone and Mclean 2003; Trkman and Trkman 2009; Urbach and Muller 2011; Dwivedi et al. 2013, Lwoga 2013 and Makokha and Ochieng 2014) which found that system quality positively influenced users‟ attitude towards use or intention to use the system. Congruently, Petter, DeLone and McLean (2008) found that system quality in the D&M model had significant effects on system use in an analytical study of 18 different studies that used system quality construct. Dwivedi et al. (2013) in another study in the UK reported a significant influence of system quality (β=0.328, p=0.000) on actual use of RFID integrated systems. Kapoor, Dwivedi and Lal (2013) also concurred that a higher system quality would attract greater positive user intentions and use. Although these studies did not examine the direct effect of system quality on attitude, Dwivedi et al. (2013) stated that a good system quality would help form a positive user attitude, and also support more use of the technologies.
In other related studies, Olatokun and Owoeye (2012) and Moon and Kim (2001) found a significant effect of system quality, perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness on users attitude towards online technology usage. Ajjan and Hartshorne (2008) and Hartshorne and Ajjan (2009) also found that ease of use, usefulness, and compatibility (dimensions of system quality) were major determining factors of academics and students‟ attitude towards the use of Web 2.0 technologies. However, the present finding on the insignificance of system quality on users‟ attitude corroborates the finding of Zhang (2010) who observed that although information quality played a significant role in developing sense of community which could enhance the use of social networks, system quality did not in his study. Kositanurit, Ngwenyama and Osei-Bryson (2006) also found that system quality measured using reliability did not affect the utilization of system. The use of „reliability‟ to measure system quality in the current study, may have led to the insignificant relationship between system quality and intention to use Web 2.0 technologies for TAL purposes respectively. In the same way, Manochehri and Sharif‟s (2010) investigation on the influence of classroom technology on student‟s learning attitude in a Qatar university showed that ease of use (another measure of
180
system quality) at an initial stage of technology use does not lead to increase in their use in the classroom. This variability in results on system quality could be as a result of the different context, theories, population, methodology, locations and groups of people considered in the studies.
Nevertheless, the relationships between service quality, information quality, system quality (variables of the D&M model) and attitude towards the use (variable of TAM) of Web 2.0 technologies for TAL respectively were positive in the present study. Thus, it may be inferred that the more academics and students find Web 2.0 technologies easy to use, the more they will develop a promising attitude towards using the tools for TAL purposes. This may also imply that, the better the quality of the information generated and delivered through the Web 2.0, the more positive the attitude of academics and students will be to using them for TAL purposes.
Current findings on information quality suggest that academics and students will be encouraged to only use Web 2.0 technologies that can help them easily obtain and prepare TAL materials; provide sufficient and updated information; allow timely and accurate presentation; transfer and deliver information. It can therefore be inferred that the quality of information existing or generated by Web 2.0 technologies is an important determinant of attitude towards their use for TAL purposes.
Students in Halonen, Acton, Golden and Conboy‟s (2009:13) study agreed that the information obtained from the virtual learning environment supported them in accomplishing their degrees.
Thus, the quality of information produced by an IS (such as Web 2.0) especially in a learning environment is essential for effective TAL activities. The findings of the current study suggest
„attitude towards use‟ as a significant factor that could be used to extend the D&M model.
Likewise, the joint influence of SQ, IQ and SEQ is important when determining use of new technologies such as the Web 2.0. However, the study indicates that the service quality variable of D&M does not independently influence attitude. Based on the current findings, it would be a good idea to extend the D&M model with „attitude towards use‟ variable from TAM. Besides, system quality in D&M may be disregarded when independently examining the influence of the three quality factors of D&M model on attitude towards use of Web 2.0 technologies.
181