Understanding the use of YouTube as a learning resource: a social cognitive perspective

Quan Zhou*, Chei Sian Lee, Sei Ching Joanna Sin, Sijie Lin, Huijie Hu, Muhammad Fahmi Firdaus Bin Ismail

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

42 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Purpose: Drawing from social cognitive theory, the purpose of this study is to examine how personal, environmental and behavioral factors can interplay to influence people's use of YouTube as a learning resource. Design/methodology/approach: This study proposed a conceptual model, which was then tested with data collected from a survey with 150 participants who had the experience of using YouTube for learning. The bootstrap method was employed to test the direct and mediation hypotheses in the model. Findings: The results revealed that personal factors, i.e. learning outcome expectations and attitude, had direct effects on using YouTube as a learning resource (person → behavior). The environmental factor, i.e. the sociability of YouTube, influenced the attitude (environment → person), while the behavioral factor, i.e. prior experience of learning on YouTube, affected learning outcome expectations (behavior → person). Moreover, the two personal factors fully mediated the influences of sociability and prior experience on YouTube usage for learning. Practical implications: The factors and their relationships identified in this study provide important implications for individual learners, platform designers, educators and other stakeholders who encourage the use of YouTube as a learning resource. Originality/value: This study draws on a comprehensive theoretical perspective (i.e. social cognitive theory) to investigate the interplay of critical components (i.e. individual, environment and behavior) in YouTube's learning ecosystem. Personal factors not only directly influenced the extent to which people use YouTube as a learning resource but also mediated the effects of environmental and behavioral factors on the usage behavior.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)339-359
Number of pages21
JournalAslib Journal of Information Management
Volume72
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jun 16 2020
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited.

ASJC Scopus Subject Areas

  • Information Systems
  • Library and Information Sciences

Keywords

  • Influential factors
  • Learning resource
  • Online learning
  • Social cognitive theory
  • Social media
  • YouTube

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