Hybrid SEM-ANN model for predicting undergraduates’ e-learning continuance intention based on perceived educational and emotional support

Abstract

Based on the Expectation Confirmation Model (ECM), this study explores the impact of perceived educational and emotional support on university students’ continuance intention to engage in e-learning. Researchers conducted a survey using structured questionnaires among 368 university students from three universities in Jiangxi Province. They measured their self-reported responses on six constructs: perceived educational support, perceived emotional support, perceived usefulness, confirmation, satisfaction, and continuance intention. The relationships between predictors and continuance intention, characterized by non-compensatory and non-linear dynamics, were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling combined with Artificial Neural Networks. Apart from the direct effects of perceived educational and emotional support on perceived usefulness being non-significant, all other hypotheses were confirmed. Furthermore, according to the normalized importance derived from the multilayer perceptron analysis, satisfaction was identified as the most critical predictor (100%), followed by confirmation (29.9%), perceived usefulness (28.3%), perceived educational support (22.6%), and perceived emotional support (21.6%). These constructs explained 62.1% of the total variance in the students’ continuance intention to engage in e-learning. This study utilized a two-stage analytical approach, enhancing the depth and accuracy of data processing and expanding the methodological scope of research in educational technology. The findings of this study contribute to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 4, which aims to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all by 2030. It provides direction for future research in different environmental and cultural contexts.