Education Tech Research Dev

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-018-9598-6

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Choosing between the theory of planned behavior (TPB)

and the technology acceptance model (TAM)

Eddie W. L. Cheng1

 Association for Educational Communications and Technology 2018

Abstract Conflicting perspectives exist regarding the application of the technology

acceptance model (TAM) and the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to the study of
technology acceptance behavior. The present study addressed the controversy by evalu-
ating and comparing the predictive power of the two theories in a specific context, which
was to measure students’ intentions to use a wiki for group work and their behaviors in
doing so. A total of 174 students from a university in Hong Kong participated in the study.
Three hypothesized models were examined using factor-based partial least squares struc-
tural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), which can account for measurement errors and is thus
more robust than regression-based PLS-SEM. The results likely rebut the view that the
TPB is inferior to the TAM. Moreover, this research highlighted the importance of social
influences on collaborative e-learning.

Keywords Theory of planned behavior  Technology acceptance model  Factor-based

PLS-SEM  Consistent PLS-SEM  Social influences

Introduction

Since the integration of technology into education was recognized as a key driver for
improving teaching and learning, the study of individuals’ motivation to adopt and use
technology has become important (Cheon et al. 2012; Sánchez et al. 2013; Teo 2012).
Among other theories, the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and the technology accep-
tance model (TAM) have been widely adopted to study the intention and behavior of using
technologies. Researchers have examined models developed from either one of the two
theories (e.g., Cheng and Chu 2016; Teo and Noyes 2011), or both of them (Schepers and

& Eddie W. L. Cheng

wlcheng@eduhk.hk
1
Department of Social Sciences, The Education University of Hong Kong, Tai Po, Hong Kong

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Wetzels 2007), such as student mobile learning intentions (Cheon et al. 2012), pre-service
teachers using technologies (Teo 2012), and WebCT usage (Sánchez et al. 2013).
However, the blended use of the two theories in explaining the uptake of technologies is
controversial. For example, the relationship between attitudes and intentions were found to
be non-significant after controlling for the effect of perceived ease of use and perceived
usefulness on intentions (Sánchez et al. 2013; Venkatesh et al. 2003). In contrast, Yayla
and Hu (2007) found that individual theories offer more convincing results than integrated
theories. Although the predictive power of the TAM was found to be slightly higher than
that of the TPB (Ma and Yuen 2005; Ndubisi 2006), the TPB is argued to provide more
useful information for development than the TAM (Mathieson 1991; Taylor and Todd
1995). In education, the application of Web 2.0 technologies in supporting student learning
is increasingly advised (Cress and Kimmerle 2008; Mak and Coniam 2008; Naismith et al.
2011). It is important that learning behavior in an e-learning environment be explained so
that researchers and teachers can find ways to improve teaching and learning practices. To
achieve this, we must broaden our understanding to include comparisons of the two the-
ories (e.g., Mathieson 1991).
The present study, therefore, aims at addressing the controversy by examining three
hypothesized models. To assess the extent to which the TPB and the TAM postulate
different processes of technology uptake, the standard individual TPB and the TAM
models were used. To assess whether the TAM pathways, while controlling for the TPB
pathways, make significant additional contributions to predicting intentions and behaviors,
or vice versa, an integrated model of the two theories was employed. The study contributes
to the existing literature by evaluating and comparing the predictive power of the two
theories in a specific context, which is to measure students’ intentions to use a wiki for
group work and their subsequent behavior in doing so. Understanding which theory better
explains students’ use of this e-collaborative environment can help teachers and educators
formulate more effective teaching and learning strategies.

Three hypothesized models

Figure 1 illustrates the three hypothesized models for this study. The original TAM (Davis
1989) proposes that perceived ease of use should predict perceived usefulness of and
student attitudes toward use of the wiki, while perceived usefulness should predict attitudes
toward use of and intentions to use the wiki. Moreover, attitudes should predict intentions,
which in turn should predict the behavior in using the wiki. On the other hand, the original
TPB (Ajzen 1991) posits that attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control
predict intentions, while intentions and perceived behavioral control predict the behavior.
Furthermore, perceived behavioral control moderates the relationship between intentions
and the behavior. The above variables can be defined as follows (operational definitions of
the variables are shown in the ‘‘Measures’’ section):
• Perceived ease of use refers to the extent to which an individual believes that using a
particular system is free of effort (Davis 1989);
• Perceived usefulness refers to the extent to which an individual believes that using a
particular system would improve work performance (Davis 1989);
• Attitudes toward the behavior refer to an individual’s favorable or unfavorable response
to a particular behavior (Ajzen and Fishbein 2005);

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Perceived usefulness
H3a H3b
H1b

Self-esteem H1c Attitudes toward use H4 Intention to use H5 Behavior

H1a H2a
H2b
Perceived ease of use
(a) The TAM

Attitudes toward use H7

H6a

Self-esteem H6b Subjective norms H8 Intention to use H10 Behavior

H6c H9a H9c H9b

Perceived behavioral control

(b) The TPB

Perceived usefulness
H13a H13b
H11b

Self-esteem H11c Attitudes toward use H14 Intention to use H17 Behavior

H11a H12a
H12b H15
Perceived ease of use Subjective norms
H16a H16c H16b
H11d
H11e Perceived behavioral control

(c) The integrated model

Fig. 1 Proposed hypothesized models and hypotheses

• Behavioral intentions refer to the belief that an individual will in fact perform a certain
behavior (Ajzen and Fishbein 2005);
• Subjective norms refer to an individual’s reaction to social preferences on performing a
particular behavior (Cheon et al. 2012); and
• Perceived behavioral control refers to an individual’s perception of whether it is easy or
difficult to perform a particular behavior (Ajzen 1991).
Previous studies using the two theories to study technology adoption intentions in
education, including higher education, have been informative. For example, both theories
(i.e., the TAM and the TPB) were able to explain college students’ acceptance of
e-portfolios (Ahmed and Ward 2016). Whereas the TPB explained college students’
adoption of mobile learning (Cheon et al. 2012) and teachers’ use of educational tech-
nology (Lee et al. 2010), the TAM explained students’ intentions to use an image-based
virtual reality learning environment (Wojciechowski and Cellary 2013).

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Studies have also shown that perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness were
predictive of pre-service teachers’ attitudes toward use of technology (Teo et al. 2008; Teo
2012; Teo and Noyes 2011), while perceived ease of use predicted perceived usefulness of
web technology in online learning environments (Liu et al. 2010) and e-learning systems
(Badri et al. 2016). Attitudes were found to be a significant predictor of behavioral
intentions, including undergraduate and postgraduate students’ intentions to use informa-
tion technology (Taylor and Todd 1995).
Moreover, subjective norms predicted pre-service teachers’ intentions to use computers
(Teo 2012) as well as college students’ intentions to use web technologies (Cheng and Chu
2016), while perceived behavioral control, in terms of students’ ability to use web tech-
nologies, predicted their interest in using such technologies (Woo et al. 2011) and their
intentions to work collaboratively online (Cheng et al. 2016). The intention–behavior
relationship was also found to be significant in college students’ use of English e-learning
websites (Tan 2013). The moderating role of perceived behavioral control on the intention–
behavior relationship, which was proposed in the original model (Fishbein and Ajzen
2010), is seldom examined in an educational context, but a significant moderating effect
has been found in other contexts, such as consumers’ recycling intentions (Chen and Tung
2010), avoidance behavior in panic disorder (White et al. 2006), and social response
behavior (Testa and Major 1990).
In addition to the relationships specified in the two conventional theories, external
variables are included to explore the roles they play in an educational context in order to
ascertain whether the TAM is a better model than the TPB in this context. Among others,
self-esteem was selected, which refers to the extent to which ‘‘one accepts oneself, respects
oneself, and considers oneself a person of worth’’ (Rosenberg and Kaplan 1982, p. 4). As
noted by Ajzen and Manstead (2007), self-esteem is a personality trait that may influence a
person’s belief through deliberative cognitive processes. Self-esteem has been found to be
a significant predictor of attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control
(Cheng et al. 2016), but its effect on attitudes after controlling for the effect of perceived
ease of use and perceived usefulness is unknown. By determining how self-esteem inter-
acts with the variables in the two theories, insights can be made for improving the
application of the two theories. More discussion on this point is provided in the ‘‘Dis-
cussion’’ section.
Hypotheses are shown in Fig. 1. All relationships are proposed to be positive.

Method

Participants and procedure

Undergraduate and postgraduate students from a government-funded university in Hong

Kong participated in this field research. Ethical clearances for this study were obtained
from the Human Research Ethics Committee of the university. These students were
enrolled in one of the six undergraduate and postgraduate courses offered in this university.
As a normal assessment item required by each of the six courses, a group assignment was
given to the students. Each group consisted of three to four members. In this essay-type
assignment, students were told to address a question on the subject they were learning
about. Careful attention to the assignments’ designs ensured that contextual differences in

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the six separate assignments, such as the degree of workload and the length of time for the
assignments, were kept to a minimum.
In addition, students were trained to use a wiki before participating in this research. In
the training session, students were given a wiki user guide. A tutor conducted the training
session, which included an exercise where students were required to follow instructions to
complete the wiki’s major functions, including creating and revising (i.e., adding, deleting,
and changing) hypertext, with their group members. The tutor checked whether the stu-
dents had completed the exercise. Those who did not complete the exercise or had not
performed well were contacted. The tutor made sure that every student was familiar with
the use of the wiki. Although the students were trained in how to use the wiki, they were
free to determine whether to use it to complete the group assignment.
To eliminate the influence of time on responses, students completed questionnaires at
three time points separated by approximately 4 weeks before and after the group assign-
ment. Prior to the wiki training, participants were asked to disclose their demographic
characteristics and levels of self-esteem (Time 1). After finishing the wiki training, par-
ticipants completed a questionnaire that measured their responses to the items probing a set
of latent variables, including their attitudes and intentions toward use of the wiki (Time 2).
Upon completion of their group assignments, participants reported their behavior in using
the wiki (Time 3). There were 181 participants at Time 1. Because of some incomplete
questionnaires at Times 2 and 3, the data included in this study were from 174 participants.

Measures

Measures for the latent variables were adapted from previously validated items. Except for
attitudes, which was measured using a seven-point semantic differential scale, the items of
other variables were rated on a seven-point Likert scale from 1 (extremely disagree) to 7
(extremely agree). Sample items of the variables and their sources are shown below.
Self-esteem is defined as the extent to which a student evaluates his or her own worth.
Three items were made from Rosenberg (1965), including ‘‘I feel that I have a number of
good qualities.’’
Perceived ease of use is defined as the extent to which a student believes that the wiki is
easy to use. Three items were made from Davis (1989), including ‘‘I do not think that there
would be any problem for me to use the wiki [reverse-scored].’’
Perceived usefulness is defined as the extent to which a student believes that the wiki is
useful for group work. Five items were made from Davis (1989), including ‘‘Using the wiki
would improve the quality of the group assignment.’’
Attitudes toward use of the wiki are defined as the extent to which a student positively or
negatively perceives the use of the wiki for group work. Adapted from Chu (2011), three
items were rated on a seven-point bipolar adjective scale. A sample item was: ‘‘In general,
my attitude toward use of the wiki to do the group assignment is extremely negative (1)/
extremely positive (7).’’
Subjective norms, also known as social injunctive norms (White et al. 2009), are defined
as the extent to which a student responds to the referent others who like or dislike him or
her to use the wiki for group work. Two items were made from Cheon et al. (2012),
including ‘‘I think that people who are important to me would like me to use the wiki for
the group assignment.’’
Perceived behavioral control is defined as the extent to which a student perceives the
ease or difficulty of and the confidence in using the wiki for group work. This variable is
different from perceived ease of use. For example, the wiki may be easy to use (i.e.,

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perceived ease of use), but may not be appropriate for doing group assignments (i.e.,
perceived behavioral control). To measure this variable, four items were adapted from
Cheng et al. (2016), including ‘‘I am confident about using the wiki to do the group
assignment.’’
Intentions to use the wiki are defined as the extent to which a student will use the wiki
with other group members for group work. Three items were adapted from Cheng et al.
(2016), including ‘‘I will try to use the wiki to do the group assignment.’’
The behavior in using the wiki is defined as the extent to which a student has used the
wiki for group work. This variable was measured using six self-reported behavioral items,
including ‘‘In the wiki, I shared information with group members for the group assign-
ment.’’ These items were adapted from Cheng et al. (2016).

Analytic strategies

Among other structural equation modeling (SEM) techniques, the partial least squares
SEM (PLS-SEM) was employed to examine the measurement and structural models (Hair
et al. 2011). The PLS-SEM method is variance-based SEM, which is suitable to analyze
small samples and data that may violate multivariate normality. The software tool for PLS-
SEM was WarpPLS5.0 (Kock 2015b). The employed outer model analysis algorithm was
factor-based PLS type CFM1, which, similar to covariance-based SEM algorithms (e.g.,
LISREL), can account for measurement errors and is able to test the model structure (Kock
2014). For the Warp 3 factor-based PLS algorithm, the bootstrap samples were set at 100
because more re-samples only result in trifling improvements in the reliability of p values
(Kock 2015b). Additionally, WarpPLS5.0 can estimate a set of indices to determine the
structural model quality.
To achieve the objective of this study, it is crucial to compare the variables in the three
models in terms of their competency in explaining intentions and the subsequent behavior.
The findings were interpreted by use of the adjusted R2 contributions and the beta coef-
ficients (b) of the independent variables in explaining their corresponding dependent
variables. According to Hair et al. (2014), the adjusted R2 values are more appropriate for
comparing models with different specifications of the same dependent variable than the R2
values because the adjusted values penalize increasing model complexity by reducing the
inflated R2 values due to the addition of more independent variables.

Results

Descriptive statistics

The demographic profile of respondents revealed that there were 38 males and 136
females; 124 undergraduate and 50 postgraduate students; and 123 local and 51 non-local
students. Tables 1, 2, and 3 present the inter-correlations of the latent variables in the
TAM, TPB, and integrated models, respectively. The tables indicate that the hypothesized
relationships were significantly correlated.

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Table 1 Inter-correlations of the latent variables in the TAM’s hypothesized model

Variables 1 2 3 4 5 6

1 SE (.802)
2 PEU .503** (.791)
3 PU .467** .553** (.819)
4 AT .271** .497** .567** (.917)
5 INT .339** .479** .456** .678** (.884)
6 BE .082 .146 .132 .424** .393** (.846)

Numbers in parentheses are square roots of average variances extracted

SE self-esteem, PEU perceived ease of use, PU perceived usefulness, AT attitudes toward use of the wiki,
INT intentions to use the wiki, BE the behavior of using the wiki
**p \ .01

Table 2 Inter-correlations of the latent variables in the TPB’s hypothesized model

Variables 1 2 3 4 5 6

1 SE (.797)
2 AT .278** (.916)
3 SN .311** .714** (.737)
4 PBC .407** .754** .719** (.836)
5 INT .338** .679** .712** .780** (.872)
6 BE .082 .393** .450** .327** .374** (.845)

Numbers in parentheses are square roots of average variances extracted

SE self-esteem, AT attitudes toward use of the wiki, SN subjective norms, PBC perceived behavioral control,
INT intentions to use the wiki, BE the behavior of using the wiki
**p \ .01

Test of the three measurement models

Assessment of measurement biases is threefold (Kock 2011; Hair et al. 2014). First, the
reliability of the latent variables is claimed to be acceptable if their composite reliability
and Cronbach’s alpha values exceed 0.70 (Kock 2015b). Second, the indicators of a latent
variable are said to have convergent validity when the indicators load substantially on their
respective latent variables with item loading of 0.6 or above and the average variances
extracted (AVE) value of the latent variable exceeds 0.50 (Hair et al. 2014). Third, a latent
variable has discriminant validity when the square root of AVE of each latent variable is
higher than the correlation coefficients of that latent variable with other latent variables,
thereby satisfying the Fornell–Larcker criterion for discriminant validity (Hair et al. 2014).
Tables 4, 5, and 6 present the measurement model assessment results of the three
hypothesized models. First, the reliability of the latent variables in the three models was
good because their composite reliability and Cronbach’s alpha values were in the
acceptable range. Second, the convergent validity of the indicators for the latent variables
appears to be adequate because the item loadings (structure loadings) and the AVE values
of the latent variables were all above the thresholds. Third, the discriminant validity of the

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Table 3 Inter-correlations of the latent variables in the integrated model

Variables 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

1 SE (.807)
2 PEU .524** (.799)
3 PU .493** .579** (.825)
4 AT .315** .511** .579** (.921)
5 SN .331** .395** .531** .694** (.748)
6 PBC .456** .643** .541** .769** .678** (.842)
7 INT .369** .494** .471** .690** .665** .787** (.881)
8 BE .096 .202 .167 .430** .474** .357** .412** (.846)
Numbers in parentheses are square roots of average variances extracted
SE self-esteem, PEU perceived ease of use, PU perceived usefulness, AT attitudes toward use of the wiki,
SN subjective norms, PBC perceived behavioral control, INT intentions to use the wiki, BE the behavior of
using the wiki
**p \ .01

Table 4 Results for evaluating the TAM’s measurement model

Variable AVE Composite reliability Cronbach’s alpha Structure loadings

SE 0.643 0.843 0.842 0.742 $ 0.870

PEU 0.625 0.832 0.823 0.699 $ 0.902
PU 0.670 0.910 0.910 0.707 $ 0.894
AT 0.841 0.941 0.941 0.900 $ 0.931
INT 0.782 0.915 0.908 0.809 $ 0.947
BE 0.715 0.938 0.938 0.806 $ 0.898

SE self-esteem, PEU perceived ease of use, PU perceived usefulness, AT attitudes toward use of the wiki,
INT intentions to use the wiki, BE the behavior of using the wiki, AVE average variance extracted

Table 5 Results for evaluating the TPB’s measurement model

Variables AVE Composite reliability Cronbach’s alpha Structure loadings

SE 0.635 0.839 0.842 0.754 $ 0.873

AT 0.839 0.940 0.941 0.898 $ 0.931
SN 0.543 0.704 0.725 0.712 $ 0.761
PBC 0.698 0.902 0.906 0.797 $ 0.884
INT 0.760 0.904 0.908 0.803 $ 0.953
BE 0.714 0.937 0.938 0.806 $ 0.889

SE self-esteem, PEU perceived ease of use, PU perceived usefulness, AT attitudes toward use of the wiki,
SN subjective norms, PBC perceived behavioral control, INT intentions to use the wiki, BE the behavior of
using the wiki, AVE average variance extracted

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Table 6 Results for evaluating the measurement model of the integrated model
Variables AVE Composite reliability Cronbach’s alpha Structure loadings

SE 0.651 0.848 0.842 0.769 $ 0.874

PEU 0.638 0.839 0.823 0.693 $ 0.911
PU 0.680 0.914 0.910 0.723 $ 0.888
AT 0.849 0.944 0.941 0.904 $ 0.937
SN 0.560 0.717 0.725 0.718 $ 0.777
PBC 0.710 0.907 0.906 0.801 $ 0.894
INT 0.776 0.912 0.908 0.811 $ 0.964
BE 0.719 0.939 0.938 0.812 $ 0.891
SE self-esteem, PEU perceived ease of use, PU perceived usefulness, AT attitudes toward use of the wiki,
SN subjective norms, PBC perceived behavioral control, INT intentions to use the wiki, BE the behavior of
using the wiki, AVE average variance extracted

latent variables was confirmed because the Fornell–Larcker criterion was satisfied (see
Tables 1, 2, 3).

Test of the three structural models

The three structural models were tested by means of the full collinearity test, output model
fit, coefficient of determination (R2) for each dependent variable, and the standardized beta
coefficient (b) of each hypothesized relationship (Hair et al. 2014; Kock 2015b). To test for
multicollinearity among the latent variables in the structural model, the full collinearity
VIF (FVIF) of each latent variable was computed (Kock 2015b). To confirm the non-
existence of multicollinearity and method biases, the FVIF value of a variable should not
exceed 3.3 (Kock and Lynn 2012). However, this criterion can be relaxed to ‘‘less than 5’’
under either one of the following two conditions: (1) the variables are measured through a
single indicator (Kock 2015c), and (2) the factor-based PLS-SEM method is employed
(Kock 2015a). Tables 7, 8, and 9 indicate that multicollinearity and method biases were
trivial in the three structural models because the FVIF values were all below 5.
Moreover, the model quality was assessed using average path coefficient (APC),
average adjusted R-squared (AARS), and average FVIF (AFVIF; Kock 2015b). The value
for APC and AARS should be less than 2 (p \ .05 or lower), while the value for AFVIF
should not be more than 5 (ideally not more than 3.3) (Kock 2015b). All structural models
demonstrated a very good fit to the data. For the TAM, APC was 0.349 (p \ .001), AARS
was 0.337 (p \ .001), and AFVIF was 1.831. For the TPB, APC was 0.279 (p \ .001),
AARS was 0.246 (p \ .001), and AFVIF was 2.285. For the integrated model, APC was
0.285 (p \ .001), AARS was 0.329 (p \ .001), and AFVIF was 2.447.
Tables 7, 8, and 9 indicate that each dependent variable was significantly explained by
at least one independent variable (as shown by the adjusted R2 values). In general, the three
structural models were empirically supported. Because the values of the adjusted R2 were
very close to those of their corresponding R2, the bias of the non-significant independent
variables in the structural model was trivial. In regression models with more than one
independent variable, a b value indicates whether an independent variable was significantly
related to the dependent variable. The higher the b value, the stronger would be the
relationship between the two variables. Moreover, a hypothesis is supported if the

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Table 7 Results for evaluating the TAM’s structural model

Independent variables Dependent variables FVIF

PEU PU AT INT BE
b b b b b

SE .519** .291** .041 – – 1.475

PEU – .422** .264** – – 1.801
PU – – .454** .114 – 1.892
AT – – – .619** – 2.466
INT – – – – .415** 2.057
BE – – – – – 1.292
[.269**] [.390**] [.409**] [.475**] [.172**]
(.265**) (.382**) (.399**) (.469**) (.168**)
2 2
Numbers in square brackets are R values. Numbers in round brackets are adjusted R values
SE self-esteem, PEU perceived ease of use, PU perceived usefulness, AT attitudes toward use of the wiki,
INT intentions to use the wiki, BE the behavior of using the wiki, b beta coefficient, R2 coefficient of
determination, FVIF full collinearity variance inflation factor
**p \ .01

Table 8 Results for evaluating the TPB’s structural model

Independent variables Dependent variables FVIF

AT SN PBC INT BE
b b b b b

SE .327** .333** .431** – – 1.217

AT – – – .090 – 2.810
SN – – – .335* – 2.857
PBC – – – .482** .017 3.707
INT – – – – .329** 3.028
BE – – – – – 1.306
PBC * INT – – – – .170* 1.068
[.107**] [.111**] [.186**] [.683**] [.186**]
(.102**) (.105**) (.181**) (.678**) (.181**)
2 2
Numbers in square brackets are R values. Numbers in round brackets are adjusted R values
SE self-esteem, AT attitudes toward use of the wiki, SN subjective norms, PBC perceived behavioral control,
INT intentions to use the wiki, BE the behavior of using the wiki, b beta coefficient, R2 coefficient of
determination, FVIF full collinearity variance inflation factor
*p \ .05; **p \ .01

relationship under the hypothesis is found to be significant, or vice versa. Figure 2 illus-
trates the results for the three hypothesized models.

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Table 9 Results for evaluating the structural model of the integrated model
Independent Dependent variables FVIF
variables
PEU PU AT SN PBC INT BE
b b b b b b b

SE .539** .284** .030 .340** .467** – – 1.581

PEU – .438** .304** – – – – 2.217
PU – – .430** – – .004 – 2.096
AT – – – – – .100 – 3.257
SN – – – – – .290* – 2.742
PBC – – – – – .525** .021 4.519
INT – – – – – – .363** 3.061
BE – – – – – – – 1.406
PBC * INT – – – – – – .148 1.147
[.290**] [.409**] [.433**] [.116**] [.218**] [.689**] [.201**]
(.286**) (.402**) (.423**) (.111**) (.213**) (.682**) (.187**)
2 2
Numbers in square brackets are R values. Numbers in round brackets are adjusted R values
SE self-esteem, PEU perceived ease of use, PU perceived usefulness, AT attitudes toward use of the wiki,
SN subjective norms, PBC perceived behavioral control, INT intentions to use the wiki, BE the behavior of
using the wiki, b beta coefficient, R2 coefficient of determination, FVIF full collinearity variance inflation
factor
**p \ .01; *p \ .05

Discussion

The factor-based PLS-SEM analysis, which checked for multicollinearity and largely
minimized the possibility of conceptual overlapping among variables, indicates that the
three models (i.e., the TAM, the TPB, and the integrated models) demonstrated a very
good fit to the data. Therefore, the results of the three hypothesized models can be com-
pared and important insights can be generated.

Research implications

The addition of self-esteem as an exogenous variable in the models provides insights that
challenge some existing views. In the present study, although self-esteem was found to be a
significant predictor of attitudes in the TPB, its effect on attitudes was indirect through
perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness in the TAM (also indicated in the integrated
model). Therefore, the TAM provides details about the mechanism of the link between
self-esteem and attitudes via behavioral beliefs (i.e., perceived ease of use and perceived
usefulness), which, however, is subsumed in the TPB (Cheon et al. 2012). In addition, the
present study found that self-esteem was a significant determinant of subjective norms and
perceived behavioral control. A similar mechanism may exist via norm and control beliefs,
which are predictive of subjective norms and perceived behavioral control, respectively
(Ajzen 1991). The inclusion of such beliefs in future models will provide more information
about the indirect path from self-esteem to intentions. Consistent with Mathieson (1991),

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Perceived usefulness
.454** .114
.291**
.041 .619** .415**
Self-esteem Attitudes toward use Intention to use Behavior

.519** .422**
.264**
Perceived ease of use

(a) The TAM

.090
Attitudes toward use
.327**
.333** .335* .329**
Self-esteem Subjective norms Intention to use Behavior

.431**
.482** .170* .017
Perceived behavioral control

(b) The TPB

Perceived usefulness
.430** .004
.284**

Self-esteem .030 .100 .363**

Attitudes toward use Intention to use Behavior

.539**
.438** .304** .290**
Perceived ease of use Subjective norms

.340** .525** .148 .021

.467** Perceived behavioral control

(c) The integrated model

Fig. 2 Results for the three hypothesized models. Note **p \ .01, *p \ .05. A solid line represents a
significant relationship. A dotted line represents a non-significant relationship

the TPB offers more information about the role of external variables in studying behavioral
intentions.
In contrast to the previous studies (e.g., Ma and Yuen 2005; Ndubisi 2006), the present
study found that the TPB model provides fuller explanations of intentions (adjusted
R2 = .678 for the TPB, compared with .469 for the TAM) and the behavior (adjusted
R2 = .181 for the TPB, compared with .168 for the TAM) than the TAM. Moreover,
combining the two theories only increased the explanatory power to a very small extent.
Interestingly, attitudes were predictive of intentions in the TAM, but were not in the TPB
and the integrated model. The addition of subjective norms and perceived behavioral
control greatly reduced the explanatory power of attitudes. These findings reveal that
researchers may be misled by the TAM, which may be a component of the TPB and which
is not superior to the latter. As noted by Chu and Chen (2016), the TAM may be more
appropriate for studying personal adoption and use of technology. The TPB, unlike the

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TAM, considers social influences on technology adoption and use, which should not be
overlooked if e-learning involves interpersonal interactions.
Furthermore, the path from intentions to the behavior was not strong, though significant,
in all models. This can be explained by the nature of group assignments, which is very
different from that of individual assignments. In cases where social mobility is not per-
mitted (i.e., students cannot move between groups), lower-status group members are more
willing to conform to collective decisions (Bourguignon et al. 2015). Owing to the
influence from higher-status group members, students may not enact their intended
behavior. From a social identity perspective, group membership plays a role in changing
the conditions for individual behaviors (White et al. 2009). Group norms may therefore be
a moderator of the intention–behavior link. This hypothesis should be further explored in
future research.
A limitation of this study is that it did not examine other variations of the TAM or the
TPB. The most common variant is the exclusion of attitudes from a TAM-based model
(e.g., Bourgonjon et al. 2010; Venkatesh and Davis 2000). Consistent with the view that a
less parsimonious model discloses more information (Onwezen et al. 2014), the present
study suggests that the deletion of attitudes ignores some important aspects of the mech-
anism for explaining intentions. Despite occasions in which attitudes become non-signif-
icant in the presence of perceived usefulness (e.g., Sánchez et al. 2013), the present study
suggests that, in other situations, attitudes can be more powerful than perceived usefulness.
In a typical TPB model, perceived usefulness, as an outcome expectancy variable, should
affect intentions through attitudes. Moreover, researchers have added other variables to
enrich the TAM (e.g., Venkatesh 2000), but such extended models merely add external
variables to the TAM and are argued to be more complicated than the TPB, whose
predictive power is comparable to that of the TAM in technology adoption studies (Chu
and Chen 2016).

Practical implications

This research examined factors affecting the intention to use and the behavior in using a
wiki for group work. Self-esteem was found to be a significant external variable in the
models. It affected perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, subjective norms, and
perceived behavioral control in the integrated model. As noted by Guo and Barnes (2009),
satisfying this higher-order need can motivate people to work harder. Teachers should
therefore consider supporting students’ self-esteem in order to motivate them to work
collaboratively in a virtual environment (Cheng et al. 2016).
A comprehensive analysis of the three models indicates that intentions, being a sig-
nificant predictor of the wiki adoption behavior, were mainly influenced by subjective
norms and perceived behavioral control. As mentioned earlier, subjective norms imply that
the referent others can influence a person’s intentions to perform a specific behavior. In a
group assignment, the teacher may be regarded as a salient referent because he or she is the
one to teach the subject and grade the assignment. Students would then be willing to follow
the teacher’s instructions in completing the assignment. Similarly, if the teacher is more
involved in the application of the wiki (e.g., specifying how the wiki is helpful in
improving the group work), his or her influential role would be enhanced, and students may
in turn be more committed to the use of the wiki (Mak and Coniam 2008). Pertaining to
perceived behavioral control, students’ confidence and abilities are essential in enhancing
their intentions to use the wiki (Cheng et al. 2016; Woo et al. 2011).

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In the present study, a training session helped students become familiar with the wiki,
thereby increasing their interest in using the wiki as well as reducing their anxiety and
stress regarding using new skills. However, the training session should not be too simple.
In this study, the training session was fairly comprehensive. It included a user guide, a
tutorial session, and an exercise to be completed by each group. As noted by Chu and
Kennedy (2011), the more the opportunities for online discussion and co-construction of
work are given, the greater would be students’ contributions to the group work via the wiki.
Additionally, the present research did not find a significant relationship between atti-
tudes and intentions. This result differs from findings in many existing studies (e.g., Cheng
and Chu 2016; Cheng et al. 2016; Marler et al. 2009). A possible explanation is that
students were informed that this research involved the application of a wiki for group work.
Although they were not obliged to use the wiki, the established research atmosphere
reinforced social influences. From the perspective of innovation diffusion, user adoption
decisions are argued to be shaped by the social system over and above an individual’s
decision style and the utility of the technology (Hsu and Lu 2004). Thus, social expec-
tations and supports become more influential than personal preferences. This finding
underscores the importance of developing a social atmosphere for e-learning, especially
when involving interpersonal collaboration. In a computer-mediated learning environment,
emphasizing social connectedness enables students to interact in a more comfortable and
predictable manner (Chu and Chen 2016; Slagter van Tryon and Bishop 2009).

Conclusions

The contributions of this research are threefold. First, it evaluated the values of the TAM
and the TPB for studying the intention to use and the behavior in using a wiki for group
work. The results likely rebut the view that the TPB is inferior to the TAM. It is not that
one model is unequivocally better than the other, but rather that in certain circumstances
(e.g., the presence of social influences), the TPB may be more powerful than the TAM.
Therefore, researchers should be cautious when selecting the appropriate theory for a
specific context. Second, this research employed factor-based PLS-SEM, also known as
consistent PLS-SEM (Bentler and Huang 2014; Dijkstra and Henseler 2015), which is
more robust than the regression-based PLS-SEM because the former ‘‘mimics’’ the
covariance-based SEM (Sarstedt et al. 2014) by correcting for measurement error atten-
uation. Factor-based PLS-SEM is perhaps the most versatile tool for analyzing SEM
models with non-normal data. It further helps to prevent conceptual overlap of variables by
checking for multicollinearity. Finally, this research draws attention to the importance of
social influences in interactive e-learning and adoption of collaborative tools. Explicit
formation of a virtual community for teaching and learning likely facilitates students’
commitment to and participation in collaborative e-learning activities (Biasutti 2011).

Acknowledgements This study was funded by The Education University of Hong Kong (Grant Number:
T0148). The author would like to thank the five anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments on
earlier drafts of the paper.

Compliance with ethical standards

Conflict of interest The author declares that he has no conflict of interest.

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Eddie W. L. Cheng is an Assistant Professor at Department of Social Sciences, The Education University of
Hong Kong. His research interests include online collaborative learning, transfer of e-learning, and
technology diffusion.

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