Investigating the determinants and impacts of digital library engagement among postgraduate students in Malaysian research universities / Mohamad Rahimi Mohamad Rosman

The purpose of this study is to investigate digital library engagement concerning its impacts and determinants. The study was carried out using a quantitative approach in five namely Universiti Malaya (UM), Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM). A theoretical model was developed and several hypotheses were formulated. Three groups of determinants (technological, individual, and contextual) were hypothesized to positively relate with digital library engagement measured in term of focus attention, felt-involvement, aesthetic, and novelty. Three technological factors were investigated being service quality, information quality, and system quality. Three individual factors were investigated being digital library efficacy, domain knowledge, and attitude towards the digital library. Two contextual factors were examined being task resources and task complexity. Besides, the variables of digital library engagement were hypothesized to be significantly related to perceived benefits measured in terms of emotional and functional benefits. The data was analysed based on descriptive and inferential analysis using Structural Equation Modelling Partial Least Square (PLS-SEM). Based on the analysis of 492 responses collected using purposive sampling, it was proven that all hypothesize determinants were undeniably significantly related to digital library engagement. Moreover, the four variables underlying digital library engagement were also found to be positively related to perceived benefits. The results of the study are significance to several stakeholders; higher learning institutions, government policymakers, practitioners, DL vendors, as well as academician specialising on DL. The major contributions of the study can be assessed from three perspectives, theoretical, empirical, and practical. From a theoretical viewpoint, this study has developed a theoretical framework of digital library engagement concerning its impacts and determinants in the context of Malaysian postgraduate students. From the empirical viewpoint, this study provides empirical evidence of digital library engagement concerning its impacts and determinants, as well as empirical evidence of the contextual factors towards digital library engagement. From a practical viewpoint, this study develops an instrument that can be used to evaluate user engagement with the digital library as well as their impacts and determinants. However, despite its success in achieving objectives, this study is limited in certain ways, being the number of variables selected, respondents, and perceptual measure. Future research should consider other determinants such as organizational and socio-economic factors, as well as extend the coverage beyond postgraduate students to include librarian and undergraduate students. An alternative to perceptual measure, using objective measurements such as Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA), number of page visits, and other statistical measures would provide interesting results.