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Introduction
Performance expectancy refers to the extent to which a person believes that using the system will help them achieve success in job performance (Venkatesh et al., 2003). In the context of this study, performance expectancy is conceptualised as the extent to which the students expect that using technology in online learning could help them achieve better academic performance. Presently, the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic had significantly impacted the academic world and teaching-learning methods. Students unexpectedly had to change their learning patterns and adapt to the lecturers' learning methods through online technology (Michael et al., 2020). Since most university students are from Generation-Z (Gen Z), the university management has placed high expectations on their online learning ability. Unfortunately, there could be an unintentional disregard for the stress caused by technology in the students' learning process. Most significantly, the failure to identify the levels and types of stress students face due to technology usage in teaching and learning could affect their academic performance.
Therefore, based on the problem, this study applied the Person–Environment Fit (P-E Fit) as the underpinning theory to investigate the phenomenon. In principle, P-E fit occurs when one's personal factors (e.g. needs, skills and abilities) are compatible with environmental factors (e.g. supply, demand and value), resulting in life satisfaction and well-being. On the other hand, a P-E Misfit occurs when one's personal factors do not match the environmental factors, causing stress and affecting individual performance and well-being. Based on the P-E fit theory, stress does not solely arise from personal factors or environmental factors but due to the incompatibility of both (Wang et al., 2020). In other words, the P-E Misfit theory describes a situation when stress is a result of a mismatch between one's personal factor and the environmental factor simultaneously, ultimately affecting productivity. In the current study, the researchers predicted that the misfit between students' ability (i.e. their skills using information communication technology (ICT)) and the new learning environment (i.e. using online learning) has caused technostress and eventually affected performance expectancy.
Generally, technostress happens when people are exposed to a load of information when they are in constant contact with digital devices. Hence, it creates stress or develops an unusual reaction with signs in the cardiocirculatory, psychological and...