Gender and Learning via social media: A UTAUT2-Based Study of Management Students in Mumbai

Abstract

The education sector is undergoing significant transformation driven by technological advancements, affordable telecom services, and the proliferation of smartphones across socioeconomic groups. This study investigates the factors influencing students’ use of social media and social networking sites for educational purposes in Mumbai, applying the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology 2 (UTAUT2) framework. The research examines determinants such as performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions, habit, hedonic motivation, lecturer support, and student-specific factors. Primary data collection will be conducted via an electronic survey targeting 300 management students in Mumbai & Navi Mumbai Metropolitan region, based on the model developed by Venkatesh et al (UTAUT2). This study challenges the independence assumption between social influence and behavioural intention, exploring the impact of UTAUT2 factors on social media actual usage. Additionally, it assesses the moderating effect of gender on the relationship between hedonic motivation and actual usage.