Tags:Digital Technologies, Electronic Word Of Mouth, Fuzzy Set QCA and Higher Education
Abstract:
For the past ten years, electronic devices (such as laptops, tablets and mainly smartphones) have been present daily in classrooms of higher education. At the same time, students can instantaneously express their personal opinions without borders in the digital world. This action is known by electronic Word Of Mouth (eWOM). This research focus on students’ opinions about new digital technologies and how they use them for learning. Two data samples were collected in Portugal and in Spain. After conducting a Fuzzy Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis, interesting results were discovered relating positive and negative eWOM influences by several dimensions as Learning Performance, Likeability Concern, Student-Instructor Interaction and Responsiveness. The presence of the Learning Performance (as the understanding of the concepts of their course) is fundamental to value positively their school. The absence of this dimension is a necessary and sufficient condition for a negative valuation of their school. The absence of the support provided by the teachers to their students (Responsiveness dimension) leads also to a negative valuation of the school. This research provides new insights on awareness about the motivations of use of the technology in higher education.
Negative and Positive Ewom Effects on Students’ Attitudes in Higher Education: Comparison Between Portugal and Spain