Technology Adoption of Micro-Credential Learning Systems in Malaysian Higher Education: An Extended TAM Study

Abstract

Micro-credential learning systems represent an emerging category of digitally verifiable, competency-based information technology platforms that are reshaping how Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) deliver and certify skills in support of quality education. Despite their growing deployment across Malaysian public universities, the information technology adoption factors governing student acceptance of these systems remain empirically underexplored in the IS literature. This study develops and empirically tests an extended Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) that incorporates three domain-specific IT antecedents: Digital Tools (DT), Micro-Credentials (MC), and Knowledge Sharing (KS). These serve as external determinants of Perceived Usefulness (PU), Perceived Ease of Use (PEOU), Behavioural Intention (BI), and Technology Acceptance (TA). Following this, a quantitative cross-sectional survey was administered to 200 STEM undergraduates across five Malaysian public research universities. The data were then analysed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) in SmartPLS 4.0. All 10 hypothesised structural paths were supported. In particular, MC emerged as the strongest IT antecedent of PU (? = 0.341, f² = 0.178), indicating that credential-embedded system design is the primary driver of users’ perceived value of IT adoption. Meanwhile, BI was the strongest overall predictor of TA (? = 0.487, f² = 0.312), and the extended TAM model explained 54.2% of the variance in TA. Overall, the findings extend TAM into the micro-credential IT platform domain and offer evidence-based guidance for system designers, IT administrators, and policymakers advancing Malaysia’s MyDigital Blueprint digital infrastructure agenda.