Extrinsic and intrinsic motivation towards the online component of blended learning in accounting education: evidence from a Malaysian public university

This study aims to explore the extrinsic and intrinsic motivational factors that affect accounting students’ acceptance behaviour towards the online component of blended learning (OCBL) in the context of COVID-19.

A sample of 354 accounting students from a Malaysian public university was selected. Confirmatory factor analysis, correlation and regression analysis and an independent sample t-test were used for data analysis.

The results showed that the predictor motivational variables in this study affected the acceptance behaviour of the participants except for perceived ease of use. Moreover, perceived value appeared to be the most influential factor. The results also indicated that postgraduates tend to accept the OCBL more than undergraduates.

As the study participants were from only one public Malaysian university, generalisability is limited. In addition, this study only focussed on accounting students who were already enrolled in blended learning courses. Future studies could expand the population by considering those who have not signed up for such courses. Nevertheless, this study offers many theoretical and practical implications.

This study contributes to the OCBL literature, especially in accounting education, which was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. It also offers practical suggestions for educational institutions and technology system designers to expand on the usage of OCBL and improve users’ acceptance of it.