Employees’ E-learning acceptance levels in the workplace of South Korea

This study was conducted to investigate the acceptance levels of employees towards e-learning in the workplace of South Korea. Two hundred and sixty one employees of a food service company voluntarily participated in the study in Fall 2010 and 170 participants’ data were valid for final analyses. The survey consisted of 33 items drawn from selected categories from the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT). The results indicated significant differences in the acceptance levels towards e-learning based on gender, age, position, work experience, and e-learning experience. Interestingly, locations of employees did not affect the differences in the acceptance levels towards e-learning. The results showed that performance expectancy, attitudes, and anxiety were the greatest factors that influenced employees’ intention to use e-learning in the workplace. These findings suggest that Human Resource Development (HRD) staff should consider factors of technology acceptance in the design and selection of e-learning in the workplace. The limitation of the study includes a small sample size and direct and indirect factors influencing participants’ response such as limited technical infrastructure.