What role does knowledge quality play in online students' satisfaction, learning and loyalty? An empirical investigation in an eLearning context

摘要

Quality knowledge has an impact on online students learning outcomes and loyalty. A framework that delineates the perceived eLearning knowledge quality (KQ) and its relationship with learning outcomes and loyalty is currently absent. Grounded in the KQ and information system success framework - this study presents the indicators of perceived eLearning knowledge quality and its influence on students' satisfaction, which further influences their learning outcome and loyalty. In order to validate the eLearning KQ instrument and proposed relationships - data were collected from 348 online undergraduate and postgraduate students. The results of Confirmatory Factor Analysis validate five dimensions of perceived eLearning KQ - comprising Intrinsic KQ, Contextual KQ, Representational KQ, Accessible KQ and Actionable KQ. Further, the proposed relationships tested using Structural Equation Modelling demonstrated two main findings: (i) significant relationship between KQ and satisfaction - implying that students are gaining quality knowledge from eLearning content and are satisfied with it; (ii) significant relationship between satisfaction - academic performance, learning effectiveness and students' loyalty. This implies that satisfied students perceive better learning outcomes and a higher degree of loyalty towards the eLearning environment. The study contributes a causal model to encompass the distinct relationships between knowledge quality, satisfaction, learning outcomes and loyalty within an eLearning environment. Implications on eLearning delivery are also discussed.