Escaping the COVID-19 Pandemic with High-Speed E-Learning: Capabilities, Engagement, and Quality in Malaysian Higher Education

Abstract

Despite growing optimism, the COVID-19 pandemic has overstayed with its new ‘delta variant’ sweeping across continents. Consequently, higher education institutions across the globe have strategically switched to e-learning platforms to escape the massive uncertainties triggered by the ongoing global pandemic. Hence, the attraction and engagement of millions of new e-learners towards technology-enabled virtual learning environments are highly dependent on critical factors such as quality of e-service, e-information, and e-system, etc., for e-learning success. To address these emerging challenges and to bridge the research gap, the present study empirically explored the effects of e-learning communication networks, including the quality of e-service, e-information, and e-system, on e-learning in Malaysian Higher Education. Notably, the mediating mechanism of e-learner’s engagement in the processual and holistic model of e-learning quality was also examined. Drawing on study data of 450 e-learners and utilizing structural equational modeling (SEM), the findings established that e-learning quality is significantly influenced by e-service quality, e-system quality, and e-information quality, as mediated through e-learner’s engagement. The study implications include new empirical evidence on boosting e-learning quality during the pandemic-induced global education crisis and identifying the critical drivers of communication technologies in higher education (i.e., quality of e-service, e-information, and e-system) to better interpret the changing ingredients of e-learner’s engagement.