Technology Readiness, Learning Goals, and eLearning: Searching for Synergy

More and more business schools are offering classes online or classes using a mix of face-to-face and online elements. In this article, we focus on how technology readiness and learning-goal orientation influence students' preference toward these mixed classes. We conducted a large-scale survey to determine whether students who are technology ready would place higher utility on enrolling in mixed classes and/or whether there exists a participation bias such that students with low learning-goal orientation place higher utility on enrolling in mixed classes. We found that overall students who are more technology ready do place higher utility on enrolling in mixed classes, but that learning-goal orientation does not influence this decision. We conclude with implications and recommendations for business schools that are interested in offering mixed classes.

[1]  A. Parasuraman,et al.  Technology Readiness Index (Tri) , 2000 .

[2]  J. Mathieu,et al.  Goal Orientation in Organizational Research: A Conceptual and Empirical Foundation , 1996 .

[3]  Katherine N. Lemon,et al.  Return on Marketing: Using Customer Equity to Focus Marketing Strategy , 2004 .

[4]  D. Steele-Johnson,et al.  Goal orientation and task demand effects on motivation, affect, and performance. , 2000, The Journal of applied psychology.

[5]  H. Timmermans,et al.  Stated preference and choice models applied to recreation research : a review , 1990 .

[6]  B. Tabachnick,et al.  Using Multivariate Statistics , 1983 .

[7]  Mark Bullen,et al.  What’s the Difference: A Review of Contemporary Research on the Effectiveness of Distance Learning in Higher Education by Ronald Phipps and Jamie Merisotis , 1999 .

[8]  Chere Campbell Gibson,et al.  Toward an Understanding of Academic Self-Concept in Distance Education. , 1996 .

[9]  A. Rangaswamy,et al.  Consumer Choice Behavior in Online and Traditional Supermarkets: The Effects of Brand Name, Price, , 2000 .

[10]  Eduardo Salas,et al.  Effects of Training Goals and Goal Orientation Traits on Multidimensional Training Outcomes and Performance Adaptability. , 2001, Organizational behavior and human decision processes.

[11]  W. L. Cron,et al.  The role of goal orientation following performance feedback. , 2001, The Journal of applied psychology.

[12]  Jordan J. Louviere,et al.  Design and Analysis of Simulated Consumer Choice or Allocation Experiments: An Approach Based on Aggregate Data , 1983 .

[13]  R. Koestner,et al.  Causality orientations, failure, and achievement. , 1994, Journal of personality.

[14]  Rohit Verma,et al.  Effective Design of Products/Services: An Approach Based on Integration of Marketing and Operations Management Decisions , 2001, Decis. Sci..

[15]  John G. Lynch,et al.  Choices from Sets Including Remembered Brands: Use of Recalled Attributes and Prior Overall Evaluations , 1988 .

[16]  J. Dupree Techno‐Ready Marketing: How and Why Your Customers Adopt Technology , 2002 .

[17]  N. Anderson Integration theory and attitude change. , 1971 .

[18]  W. Vitulli,et al.  The Relationship Between Goal Orientation and Age Among Adolescents and Adults , 1999 .

[19]  Linda Cooper Anatomy of an Online Course. , 1999 .

[20]  Gerald L. Lohse,et al.  Consumer Buying Behavior on the Internet: Findings from Panel Data , 2000 .

[21]  Jordan J. Louviere,et al.  Configuring Service Operations in Accordance with Customer Needs and Preferences , 1999 .

[22]  M. Ben-Akiva,et al.  Discrete choice analysis , 1989 .

[23]  Paul E. Green,et al.  Conjoint Analysis in Marketing: New Developments with Implications for Research and Practice , 1990 .

[24]  Rohit Verma,et al.  Predicting customer choices , 2005 .

[25]  D. McFadden The Choice Theory Approach to Market Research , 1986 .

[26]  H. Belloc The Free Press , 2002 .