Impact of Perceived Usefulness and Perceived Ease of Use, on the Usage of E-books of Undergraduates: With Special Reference to Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka

Abstract

The advantages of adopting e-books in education are universally acknowledged by students and teachers. Learning becomes more interactive and interesting with the use of digital books. Students can now actively participate in the learning process rather than passively listening to one person talk. Learning becomes more enjoyable and engaging when e-books are used in the classroom. The purpose of this study was to examine how perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use affect the usage of e-books by the undergraduate, Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya. Perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use were used as independent variables and e-book usage is the dependent variable. The impact of independent variables and dependent variables were mediated by behavioral intention to use. The sample was 335 undergraduates selected from the Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya. Questionnaires were used to collect data from the undergraduates. Respondents were asked to indicate their agreement or disagreement on Five Point Likert Scale as the scaling method. The data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23. Mean Score and Standard Deviation were used for all the variables for univariate analysis and correlation coefficient was used for bivariate analysis. The hypotheses were tested using the Correlation and regression analysis and Sobel test. The findings showed that there is moderate positive core relation between two independent variables and the dependent variable. These findings have consequences for educators and instructional methodologists, who must balance the benefits of new learning technology with the realities of student perceptions and use.