RESUMO
Introduction: Buoyed by recent calls to research and advance the knowledge economy and sustainable development. This study explains how the role of the knowledge economy in influencing the COVID-19 pandemic has emerged with numerous opportunities for the global E-learning or online education industry. And, knowledge sharing behavior has been hugely driven by various sharing platforms concerning a new paradigm for diversifying education and learning. However, our study is to further extend the understanding and examine the related empirically correlations to deepen online education for sustainable development (OESD). Both advancing theoretical underpinnings and enhancing the online education industry are highly integrated and introduced toward a sustainable pathway. This study brings the perspectives from consumer value, social identity social exchange, and value-attitude-behavior to explain sustainable consumption behavior in the Chinese online education industry (SCBOEI). Thus, the relationship among factors in this study is statistically examined and the SCBOEI model as the new theoretical insight is introduced in a way of sustainable consumption behaviors in the Chinese online education industry. Finally, this study addresses managerial implications to practitioners, the government, universities, and markets. Materials and methods: Employing a quantitative approach, about 559 valid questionnaire surveys are collected from Chinese higher education institutions. This study includes participants from four controlling variables (age, education level, family income, and gender) and six latent variables. The bootstrapping method was applied to validate mediating factors and their interacting relationships. Results: The finding reveals that a set of classic psychological theories related fits the SCBOEI in higher education from the consumer value, contextual factors, social identity, sustainable consumption attitudes, and consumer engagement to explain SCBOEI. The mediating role of identity, sustainable consumption attitudes, and consumer engagement is highly concerned. The value and contextual factors directly make impact on SCBOEI through identity, sustainable consumption attitudes, and consumer engagement. Implications: The study significantly contributes to enriching the theoretical bases for advancing the literature on sustainable consumption behavior and online education. Our research provides managerial insights into government policy about the online education industry and marketers to set more advertisements to wake awareness of SCBOEI. Furthermore, higher education institutions should encourage their employees and students to participate in SCBOEI actively. All the stakeholders are essential to lead the consumer to SCBOEI by shaping their internal psychology while paying more attention to social equality (education, gender), responsible consumption, and decent economic development. Overall, addressing these issues will help to provide scholars with novel theoretical insights and practitioners with managerial advice.
RESUMO
Introduction: As the world is consistently driven by the infusion of new-generation information technology and the knowledge economy, college students are placed under mounting pressure in developing occupation-related competencies. Their employability has been receiving growing concerns from stakeholders such as higher education institutions, governments, employers, parents, and even student groups themselves as it plays a decisive role in occupational success, social stability, and economic prosperity. Under the theoretical guidance of social cognitive theory, this study set out to investigate the cognitive and psychological mechanisms through which innovation capability, social adaptability, and self-efficacy influence the employability of college students. It also attempts to analyze the mediating role of self-efficacy in the relations between innovation capability, social adaptability, and employability which has been rarely studied in academia. Methods: A quantitative approach was employed in this study. Data was collected from 726 undergraduates from 9 higher education institutions in the mainland of China by questionnaire survey method. The research model showed a good fit (χ2/df=4.46, RMSEA=0.069, SRMR=0.049, GFI=0.934, CFI=0.965, NFI=0.955, TLI=0.955). Structural equation modeling (SEM) was applied to this study for data analysis. Results: The findings showed that innovation capability, social adaptability, and self-efficacy significantly and positively correlates with undergraduates' employability. University students with stronger innovation capability, social adaptability, and self-efficacy tend to be more employable in the job market. Model 4 of SPSS PROCESS Macro revealed that self-efficacy played a mediating role in the correlation between innovation capability, social adaptability, and employability. Discussion: Undergraduates with higher levels of innovation capability and social adaptability are more confident in their abilities to take specific actions and achieve expected goals, which in turn intensifies their employability. The study suggests the possibility of improving undergraduates' employability through positive interference of innovation capability, social adaptability, and self-efficacy in the era of information technology and knowledge-based economy.
RESUMO
Employability of college students has been attached great importance by higher education institutions, employers, and governments because college graduates are the strategic human resource for the sustainable growth of universities, organizations, and countries across the world. It is also receiving growing attention from academic community. This study aimed to examine the psychological mechanism that impacts college students' employability. It adopted an empirical approach by collecting data from 646 final-year students from 9 universities in the mainland of China. SPSS 25.0 was used for description, correlation, and regression analysis. AMOS 24.0 was utilized for path analysis. Model 6 Bootstrap method of PROCESS Version 3.5 was adopted for mediation analysis. The results showed that achievement motivation positively predicted self-efficacy, academic performance, and employability among undergraduates. Participants' self-efficacy did not significantly impact their employability or play a mediating role in the relationship between achievement motivation and employability, while academic performance was a significant mediator of this association. Self-efficacy and academic performance served as chain mediators in the prediction of achievement motivation on college students' employability. After controlling gender and family residence, achievement motivation still had significant and positive impact on employability of college students. This research made several noteworthy contributions to the existing studies on college students' employability and provided insight for practitioners in strengthening their employability through these psychological constructs.
RESUMO
Objective: Few research efforts have substantially introduced relevant studies on Chinese students' adaptability in relation to the ineffectiveness of blended learning mode in College English. This study is guided by social cognitive theory, and related literature has been reviewed concerning adaptability. In this study, we aim to examine the involved relationships among contextual factors, self-efficacy, motivation, and adaptability to blended learning mode among non-English majored Chinese learners in the College English course. Methods: The quantitative research method was employed in this study, and 595 respondents were eventually collected to enable the data analysis. The structural equation modeling (SEM) approach was used to analyze the data. Results: (1) The non-English majored learners' adaptability to blended learning mode in College English was at a low level with a mean value of 2.26, indicating that students still suffer difficulties from class conducted in blended learning; (2) the fit indices were at the level of good fit, and it suggested the structural model had an overall good fit to the data as shown: x 2/df = 2.496, RMESA = 0.050, GFI = 0.956, AGFI = 0.936, NFI = 0.968, RFI = 0.959, IFI = 0.980, TLI = 0.975, CFI = 0.980; (3) adaptability was positively related to contextual factors, self-efficacy, and motivation (p < 0.001); (4) contextual factors exerted an indirect effect on the adaptability not only through the separate mediating role of self-efficacy and motivation, but through the chain mediating role of self-efficacy and motivation (p < 0.01). Implications: This study theoretically extends previous studies on adaptability by investigating the affecting factors in the framework of social cognitive theory. More practically important is that this study sheds light on the impact mechanism of positive and enjoyable environment, self-efficacy and motivation on non-English majored learners' adaptability to blended learning mode in English course, which would provide a vital insight for administrators and College English instructors to reconsider the role of learners' responses in the mixed mode to improve their English achievement more effectively, as well as to enhance and promote their user experience of the offered blended learning service.
RESUMO
The prosperous development of online education in the digital age harvested countless consumers. Education for sustainable development is an important proposition for both academic community and practitioner, however, current little studies have shed light on Sustainable Consumption Behavior in online education industry (SCBOEI). The Consumer Value Theory and Social Identity Theory as theoretical basis linked with the field of Sustainable Consumption Behavior. This study is to further investigate the role of consumer value and social identity in the relation to Sustainable Consumption Behavior. Putting forward suggestions from this study to online education providers toward sustainable development. Method: Data on the impact of personal value on SCBOEI through a survey method with 552 valid students as respondents are collected from higher education institutions in China. A structural equation modeling approach is employed in this study for data analysis. Results: The result shows at the level of excellent model fit as indicated by all indicators: X 2/DF = 1.053 (<3), RMSEA = 0.010 (<0.08), CFI = 0.991, GFI = 0.971, TLI = 0.989, AGF = 0.961 (>0.9). The results showed that, through social identity, functional value (indirect effect = 0086, P < 0.001), emotional value (indirect effect = 0061, P < 0.001), and social value (indirect effect = 0.073, P < 0.001) influence the variance of SCBOEI. The finding reveals that both theories can explain the SCBOEI of higher education students by showing that functional, social, and emotional values as well as social identity are powerful predictors of the Sustainable Consumption Behavior. The proposed model highlights the mediating role of social identity between SCBOEI and the three values. The functional, emotional, and social values influence SCBOEI directly and through social identity. Implications: The study significantly contributes to market promotion, college students, education planning, and teaching. Online education market personnel and college students can better understand the significance of sustainable development aspect of online education. Teaching and learning activities help lead students to SCBOEI by shaping their values and identities while paying more attention to quality education, knowledge sharing, and social equality.
