Adoption intention towards Open Educational Resources: Role of experience, digital divide and voluntariness

Oct 15, 2026

The digitalization of higher education brings opportunities and challenges for private higher education institutions (HEIs). Using Chinese private HEIs as the context, the study examines how performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, and facilitating conditions affect lecturers’ adoption intentions of open educational resources (OER). It analyzes moderating roles of experience and the digital divide and tests voluntariness as a mediator. Data from 750 lecturers are analyzed with structural equation modeling, showing significant predictors and a mediating role of voluntariness.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages18

Reading Time45 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

African Educational Research Journal Vol. 12(4), pp. 282-299, November 2024 DOI: 10. 30918/AERJ.124.24.060 ISSN: 2354-2160 Full Length Research Paper Adoption intention towards Open Educational Resources: Role of experience, digital divide and voluntariness Xinjun Li, Jirawan Deeprasert* and Songyu Jiang Rattanakosin International College of Creative Entrepreneurship, Rajamangala University of Technology Rattanakosin, Nakhon Pathom 73170 , Thailand. Accepted 18 November, 2024 | ABSTRACT
The digitalization of higher education has brought more opportunities and challenges to private higher education institutions (HEIs) . Based on the Chinese private HEIs, this study aims to 1) examine how performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, and facilitating conditions influence the adoption intentions of lecturers, and 2) to analyze the moderating roles of experience and the digital divide, 3) to validate the mediating effect of voluntariness. This research was collected from 750 lecturers in private HEIs across major regions in China within a random sampling method. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was applied to analyze the data, revealing that performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, and facilitating conditions significantly predict OER adoption intentions. Experience positively moderates these relationships by enhancing adoption intentions, whereas the digital divide negatively moderates them, limiting lecturers’ adoption intentions. Voluntariness was identified as a significant mediator, particularly strengthening the relationship between social influence, facilitating conditions, and adoption intentions. These findings suggest that addressing digital competency gaps and enhancing support for voluntary OERuse could facilitate wider adoption in private HEIs, providing valuable insights for policymakers to develop tailored strategies that promote digital resource integration and educational innovation.
Keywords: Adoption intention, digital divide, digital education, educational technology management, education management, open educational resources, private higher education institutions. | | --- | | *Corresponding [author. E-mail: jirawan.dee@rmutr.ac.th](author. E-mail: jirawan.dee@rmutr.ac.th). | INTRODUCTION With the rapid global advancement of digital transformation, significant shifts have occurred across various educational domains (Mohamed Hashim et al. , 2022) . Open Educational Resources (OER) have emerged as a central component in enhancing educational quality and equitable access to resources (Laufer et al., 2021). As freely accessible and adaptable educational materials, OER promotes an open-sharing culture, allowing educators and learners to engage with digital content more flexibly (Mncube et al. , 2024) . Globally, digital education is increasingly recognized as a crucial approach to achieving universal and lifelong learning goals, fostering a shift from traditional, instructor-centered models to collaborative, learner-centered environments (Chandra et al. , 2024) . In China, the integration of OER and digital education initiatives has become fundamental to the development of private higher education institutions (HEIs) (Qi, 2022) . According to the Ministry of Education, China has approximately 764 private HEIs, employing over 400,000 full-time faculty and enrolling more than 3 million students, underscoring the significant role of private institutions within the national education system (Qi, 2022) . Through Li et al. 283 the adoption of OER, private HEIs are progressively bridging gaps with public institutions, aiming to enhance resource accessibility and educational quality (Wawak et al. , 2024) . Despite its potential, the adoption of OER in Chinese private HEIs faces numerous challenges, including financial constraints, limited technological infrastructure, and a lack of digital proficiency among educators (Zou et al. , 2021) . Additionally,

FAQs

What factors influence lecturers’ adoption intentions of OER in private HEIs?

Performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, and facilitating conditions significantly predict adoption intentions.

How do experience and the digital divide affect OER adoption intentions?

Experience strengthens the relationships by enhancing adoption intentions, while the digital divide weakens them and limits adoption intentions.

What is the role of voluntariness in the adoption process?

Voluntariness acts as a significant mediator, especially strengthening links between social influence, facilitating conditions, and adoption intentions.

Oct 15, 2026

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