Personality traits and intention to continue using massive open online courses (ICM) in Spain: The mediating role of motivations

Abstract

This research proposes a theoretical research model that integrates personality traits (namely, conscientiousness, agreeableness, and extraversion) with motivation (whether external, in terms of third party enforcement, or internal, in terms of self-motivation) in explaining the variance in the Intention to Continue using Massive Open Online Courses (ICM), i.e., MOOCs. Having analyzed a sample of 136 students in Spain using Partial Least Squares (PLS) path analysis, we found that internal motivation plays a significant full mediating role in the effects of personality on ICM for all traits except extraversion. Extraversion is externally motivated, but no evidence was found to support direct or indirect effects on the ICM. None of the above personality traits was found to have any significant direct impact on the ICM. Internal, but not external motivation, was found to influence the ICM significantly. This model explains 49% of the variation in such intention. The implications for employers seeking maximum profit for employees enrolled in MOOCs are highlighted.