Félix Pascual-Miguel

Behavioral intention, use behavior and the acceptance of electronic learning systems: Differences between higher education and lifelong learning

Abstract Widespread implementation of e-learning systems – learning management systems, virtual learning environments – across higher education institutions has aroused great interest on the study of e-learning acceptance. Acceptance studies focus on the predictors of system adoption and use, with behavioral intention to use the system as a proxy for actual use. This study proposes a TAM3-based model – with the inclusion of two additional variables: personal innovativeness in the domain of information technology and perceived interaction – to study the factors influencing the acceptance of e-learning systems. Attention is also brought towards the role of behavioral intention, especially in its relation with use behavior. In order to do so, two different settings were considered: higher education and lifelong learning; data was gathered from a survey administrated to Spanish graduate and lifelong learning students, and partial least squares analysis was used to test the research model. Results supported TAM relations, except for the intention-behavior linkage, and unveiled a dual nature of perceived usefulness – with one component related to efficiency and performance, and another component related to flexibility. The adequacy of applying TAM3-based models in educational contexts and suitability of actual system usage measures are also discussed.

Barriers and drivers for non-shoppers in B2C e-commerce: A latent class exploratory analysis

The barriers and drivers of e-shopping, as well as segmentation and behavior of e-shoppers, have been long studied in the last two decades, but the behavior of non-shoppers in business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce is still an open field for research which has seldom been dealt with. Our exploratory study has as its main objective the classification of non-shoppers in B2C e-commerce based on the barriers which keep deterring them from purchasing on the Internet and the drivers which might lead them to engage in e-shopping. In order to achieve this goal, data was gathered from 1499 Spanish respondents from a nationwide household panel survey. The responses were analyzed using a latent class analysis (LCA) approach and the results show four different types of non-shoppers based on the barriers for online shopping, while six different groups were identified based on the drivers to start shopping on the Internet. Implications for research and practice from the findings of the study are discussed in the final section.

Perceived Compatibility and the Adoption of B2C E-Commerce by Non-buyers

The purpose of this article is to study the factors which affect the intention to buy online for users who have never made any prior purchase using the electronic channel, with special focus to the role of perceived compatibility. To do so, an adoption model for e-commerce was proposed on the basis of the Technology Adoption Model (TAM) and the Innovations Diffusion Theory (IDT). In order to validate the model, data gathered amongst Spanish consumers who had no experience using e-commerce, were analyzed using the partial least squares (PLS) method. The results have demonstrated the importance of perceived compatibility as a significant factor to foster non-buyers’ adoption of electronic business-to-consumer e-commerce (eB2C).

Revisiting the SEC Classification Framework in Traditional and Electronic Commerce

The recent growth of e-commerce sales has its cause not only on the increase of products sold, but also on the incorporation of new products which were previously not selling well on the online channel. An outstanding example of these products in Spain is clothing, which has rocketed from a marginal position in online sales to the fifth place of the top selling products over the Internet. This is an interesting case because clothing has conventionally been classified as an Experience product within the SEC (Search, Experience, Credence) classification framework, which proposes product segmentation based on the ability of consumers to identify the characteristics and attributes of the products before and after their purchase and use. This situation raises the question whether the SEC classification is still valid today and if there are changes in consumer perceptions about which segment the different products are categorized into. In order to answer these questions, a selection of 26 products was made by e-commerce experts; then, 204 undergraduate and graduate students were asked to classify those products within the SEC framework, and to declare their purchase intentions and actual shopping behavior for each product, both in the online and traditional channel. The findings from this study suggest that the SEC classification is still valid in electronic commerce but not in traditional retail stores. Moreover, the study detected actual changes in the customer perceptions of the nature of some products within the SEC classification.

A Comparative Study on the Influence between Interaction and Performance in Postgraduate In-Class and Distance Learning Courses Based on the Analysis of LMS Logs

Learning Management Systems’ use has been rapidly increasing during the last ten years, mainly in online distance learning courses but also in in-class courses. In parallel, technological advances have made it possible to track and store all the activity taking place in the LMS, and therefore to register the participation and interaction of students. This paper addresses two key questions: a) Is student interaction in the LMS an indicator of the final academic performance in a course?; and b) Is this interaction carried out in a different way in distance and in-class education, with different final results?. In order to answer this question, different types of interaction have been classified and extracted from Moodle LMS activity record logs during two years in one master program with online distance learning and in-class learning modalities at the Universidad Politecnica de Madrid. The results show partial or no evidence of influence between interaction indicators and academic performance. The last section of this study covers a discussion of results and implications.

Design and development of a business simulation game application for service-based and digital economy

Business simulation games have been used for some decades now as a training complement for business administration studies, but more recently they have already been included as part of engineering teaching. Although there is little debate about the usefulness and efficacy of business simulation games, most of them are based on traditional concepts of economy related to manufacturing and distribution of physical goods. Therefore, they are a reflection of an analog economy and they may not be adequate to represent situations and scenarios of the digital economy. This study aims to overcome this problem and proposes the development of a new business simulation tool that suits the new training needs of engineers.

Intellectual Capital Management in SMEs and the Management of Organizational Knowledge Capabilities: An Empirical Analysis

Knowledge management is a complex concept of difficult implementation in the organizations and only possible to understand from a socio-technical point of view, where the human component establishes a relation of synergy with technological and cultural elements that allow him to extend their capabilities. The proposed model is based on a cause-effect relation, as the result of the influence of IT/IS presence, organizational culture and human capital in organizational knowledge management, within the framework of a maturity model. The investigation was developed on a group of Latin American SMEs from the industrial and manufacturing sector, using a Partial Least Squares (PLS) approach and k-means clustering for statistical analysis. Structural validity of the model was verified and reliability consistency, stability, and prediction ability were demonstrated. The analysis shows that Latin American SMEs have not found yet the balance that allows them to efficiently take advantage of the installed technology and the capacity of their human resources to operate its intellectual capital.

An Analysis of the Impact of 2.0 Tools and Technologies on Organizational Processes

In this paper, the authors present results from a study on the usage rate of 2.0 tools and technologies among Spanish enterprises. The main objective of the study is to analyze, from the perceptions of executives, the influence of social software tools on a set of business processes. This analysis has been made using two graphic tools: the “2.0 Success Matrix†and the “Tool’s Footprint†. Both the review of literature and the empirical work have lead to important findings and conclusions.

An Analysis of the Use of Social Software and Its Impact on Organizational Processes

This article proposes a study on the implementation rate of the most relevant 2.0 tools and technologies in Spanish enterprises, and their impact on 12 important aspects of business processes. In order to characterize the grade of implementation and the perceived improvements on the processes two indexes, Implementation Index and Impact Rate, have been created and displayed in a matrix called ”2.0 Success Matrix”. Data has been analyzed from a survey taken to directors and executives of large companies and small and medium businesses.