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Online learning has become a popular medium to disseminate knowledge for both institutions of learning and for companies. The economic benefits to deliver knowledge and training online are well documented; however, there are still issues as to its effectiveness. One way that online learning may be more effective is by taking into account a student's learning style. Our research seeks to understand if online learning tools account for learning styles, will users find them useful and easier to use thus resulting in a successful online learning environment? We propose an extended Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to include learning styles as an external variable. Our results show significance for six of the seven hypotheses. Educators and corporate training departments can use these findings to design a better online learning environment for their students and workforce.

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This study investigates how institution-based trust affects community members' commitments toward their online communities. Drawing on trust and regulatory focus theory, our research model explains that institution-based trust (situational normality and structural assurance) influences members' community commitments and that members' regulatory foci (promotion- and prevention-focus) moderate the impacts of institution-based trust on community commitments. To test our research model, we surveyed 303 members of online communities. We find that structural assurance (not situational normality) positively affects members' community commitments. We also find that members' promotion-focused motivations moderate the relationship between situational normality and community commitments. This study suggests a theoretical framework to augment existing relationships of trust, motivation, and commitment research, emphasizing the role of institution-based trust provided by the community itself. This study also explains that online communities can sustain their competitive advantages with the community membership base by facilitating impersonal structures and functionalities of the community.