Continuance Use of Cloud Computing in Higher Education Institutions: A Conceptual Model

Abstract

Resource optimization is a key concern for Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). Cloud Computing, as the recent generation in computing technology of the fourth industrial revolution, has emerged as the main standard of service and resource delivery. As cloud computing has grown into a mature technology and is being rapidly adopted in many HEIs across the world, retaining customers of this innovative technology has become a challenge to the cloud service providers. Current research trends on cloud computing have sought to study the acceptance or adoption of technology; however, little research has been devoted to the continuance use in an organizational setting. To address this gap, this study aims to investigate the antecedents of cloud computing continuance use in HEIs. Hence, drawing on the prior literature in organizational-level continuance, this research established a conceptual model that extends and contextualizes the IS continuance model through the lens of the TOE framework (i.e., technological, organizational, and environmental influences). The results of a pilot study, conducted through a survey with information and communications technology (ICT) decision makers, and based on the proposed conceptual model, indicate that the instrument is both reliable and valid, and so point the way towards further research. The paper closes with a discussion of the research limitations, contribution, and future directions.

Analyzing Continuance of Cloud Computing in Higher Education Institutions: Should We Stay, or Should We Go?

“…After these steps, pilot testing was done to determine the reliability and validity of the formulated instrument. Most scholars opine that a sample size of about 20-40 is appropriate [119][120][121][122][123]; hence, the pilot testing conducted in this study gathered 38 validated questionnaires filled up by ICT decision-makers from public universities in Malaysia [19]. Instrument formulation and data collection were the two primary systematic techniques adopted in this study; these are described in the following subsections.…”

“…Additionally, various studies have contributed to the knowledge concerning the continuance of CC in varying scenarios [11,15,16,[31][32][33][34][35][36][37]. However, the factors that drive institutions to continue or discontinue CC subscriptions remain adequately discovered [11,12,14,31], especially in the case of HEIs [10,19]. Considering that most cloud services are subscription-based [1], this is a surprising finding.…”

“…To ensure that the developed model is relevance and coherence, additional constructs were identified from the literature to predict the continuance of CC in an educational context (i.e., COL and regulatory policy). The TOE framework [79] was used to construct our research model based on three contexts; technological context (i.e., NB, SQ, IQ and TI), organisational context (i.e., SI and COL), and environmental context (i.e., regulatory policy and CP) [18,19]. Furthermore, we advanced the research hypothesis to set the research agenda, suggest research direction for further assessment, and obtain requisite knowledge on continuance of CC.…”

“…Using the predominant frameworks regarding organisational level continuance (i.e., the ISS model and the ISD model), we built upon, extended, and provided context to the ISC model to better understand CC continuance in HEIs. The TOE framework [79] was used to construct our research model based on three contexts; technological context, organisational context, and environmental context [18,19]. Previous research indicates that the explained variance corresponding to an extended research model indicates better improvement than a single theoretical model [158,159].…”

“…Precisely, current research trends on CC have sought to study the technology's acceptance or adoption; however, little research attention has been given to the continuance use, particularly at organizational-level setting [14][15][16][17]. In the context of HEIs, past research has also reported that evidence on continuance of CC at individual and organizational level is scarce [10,[18][19][20][21][22]. Therefore, answering to the following research questions was an apparent motivation for this research to be conducted: (i) What constructs influence the organizational-level continuance of CC in HEIs?…”