ACCEPTANCE AND CONTINUANCE INTENTION OF WEB-BASED LEARNING TECHNOLOGIES (WLT) USE AMONG UNIVERSITY STUDENTS IN A BALTIC COUNTRY

This paper presents the acceptance and "continuance intention" of use for Web-based learning tools among University students in a Baltic country, namely Estonia. In this paper, we used the technology acceptance model (TAM), which was extended to include two external constructs: the technology and user characteristics. These two constructs were modeled to influence the perceived ease of use, and perceived usefulness constructs in the TAM. Further, another construct - continuance intention - in the information systems (IS) post-adoption literature was linked to the TAM. We used a sample of 72 students from four local higher educational institutions that have experience with a specific Web-based learning tool; i.e. WebCT. Our results indicate that both the characteristics of the technology and user affect perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness. In addition, perceived ease of use significantly affects usage, whilst perceived usefulness did not show any meaningful influence. Our data, in the context of Web-based learning technologies, also indicates that both usage and perceived usefulness influence continuance intention, whilst perceived ease of use does not. To conclude, the implications for both practice and theory are discussed.