FROM PERCEPTIONS to INTENTIONS: THE MEDIATING ROLE of ATTITUDE in E-LEARNING TECHNOLOGY ACCEPTANCE among UNIVERSITY EMPLOYEES in LIBYA

Abstract

E-learning in Libyan universities has expanded since the COVID-19 disruption, yet little is known about why staff accept or resist it. This study tests whether the two core beliefs of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEOU), shape employees' intention to use e-learning technology directly, or indirectly through their attitude. A cross-sectional survey was completed by 365 academic and administrative employees of the University of Tripoli between January and June 2026. The model was estimated with partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) and bootstrapping in SmartPLS. PEOU (β = 0.410) had a stronger effect on attitude than PU (β = 0.241), and together they explained 37.8% of the variance in attitude. Attitude was the strongest predictor of intention (β = 0.486; f² = 0.264). PU (β = 0.182) and PEOU (β = 0.157) also affected intention directly. Attitude partially mediated both relationships, with a larger indirect effect for PEOU (0.199) than for PU (0.117). The model explained 59.2% of the variance in intention. The study examines university employees rather than students in a fragile, post-conflict North African setting. It shows that ease of use, not usefulness, is the main route to favourable attitudes in a low-infrastructure context, and that attitude remains a necessary construct in TAM when adoption is institutionally encouraged but not yet routine.