Identifying the Components of Acceptance and Utilization of Educational Technologies in the Development of Occupational Skills
Keywords:
E, learning, Educational Technologies, Inductive Thematic Analysis, Occupational Skills Development, Organizational Empowerment, Technology AcceptanceAbstract
This study aimed to identify and explain the components affecting the acceptance and utilization of educational technologies for the development of occupational skills among employees of the Imam Khomeini Relief Committee. This applied study adopted a qualitative case-study design. Participants comprised theoretical experts in human resource management and information technology as well as practical experts and organizational managers in the fields of training and technology, who were selected through purposive and snowball sampling until theoretical saturation was achieved. Data were collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews and analyzed using inductive thematic content analysis in MAXQDA. Coding reliability was assessed through Holsti’s test-retest reliability and inter-coder agreement, yielding mean coefficients of 0.843 and 0.735, respectively. The thematic analysis generated 62 basic concepts, 18 subcategories, and 7 main categories: technology, organizational goal-setting and policy, control and evaluation, educational structure, educational content, executive management, and individual characteristics. The resulting model demonstrated that educational technology acceptance operates through a hierarchical and interactive structure in which macro-level infrastructural and organizational factors influence employees through intermediate educational and managerial processes. These pathways ultimately converge on individual technical and psychological capabilities, particularly computer literacy, self-efficacy, prior experience, and psychological readiness. Accordingly, effective technology acceptance and sustained occupational skill development depend on the interaction of technological infrastructure, supportive organizational policies, monitoring mechanisms, instructional design, practical content, and individual empowerment. The acceptance and sustainable utilization of educational technologies constitute a multidimensional and systemic process. Occupational skill development is most effectively supported when technological infrastructure, organizational policies, continuous evaluation, appropriate instructional structures, applicable educational content, effective executive management, and employee empowerment are integrated within a coherent organizational framework.
Downloads
References
AbdulWahab Mahmoud, E. (2021). The Effect of E-Learning Practices during the COVID-19 Pandemic on Enhancing Self-Regulated Learning Skills as Perceived by University Students. Amazonia Investiga, 10(39), 234-245. https://doi.org/10.34069/AI/2021.39.03.12
Aguilera-Hermida, A. P. (2020). College Students' Use and Acceptance of Emergency Online Learning Due to COVID-19. International Journal of Educational Research Open, 1, 100011. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedro.2020.100011
Ang, W. S., Md Yunus, M., & Hashim, H. (2021). Factors Affecting Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) Postgraduate Students' Behavioural Intention for Online Learning during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Sustainability, 13(6), 3026. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13063524
Balaji Bello, O., & Olarewaju Adeoye, A. (2018). Organizational Learning, Organizational Innovation and Organizational Performance: Empirical Evidence among Selected Manufacturing Companies in Lagos Metropolis, Nigeria. Journal of Economics and Management, 33, 25-38. https://doi.org/10.22367/jem.2018.33.02
Bekimbetova, A. (2020). Responsibility and Learning Effectiveness. Bulletin of Science and Practice, 6(4), 275-280.
Cetin, Y., & Mirasyedioglu, S. (2019). An Inquiry into the Underlying Reasons for the Impact of Technology Enhanced Problem-Based Learning Activities on Students' Attitudes and Achievement. Eurasian Journal of Educational Research, 19(79), 191-208. https://doi.org/10.14689/ejer.2019.79.9
Čevra, B. (2021). E-Learning in Organizations: The Impact of Organizational Support on the Intention to Use E-Learning Systems University of Sarajevo].
Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2018). Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing among Five Approaches (4 ed.). SAGE Publications.
Dibaj, F., & Ahmadi, M. R. (2021). The Effect of E-Learning on the Development of Job Knowledge and Skills. Iranian Journal of Engineering Education, 14(54), 57-75.
Ebrahimi, M., Bayati, A. R., Mansourian, S., & Masoudi, M. (2020). The Role of Unlearning in Organizational Innovation of Bank Branches. Modern Research Approaches in Management and Accounting, 4(43), 20-36.
Encarnacion, R. F. E., Galang, A. A. D., & Hallar, B. J. A. (2021). The Impact and Effectiveness of E-Learning on Teaching and Learning. International Journal of Computing Sciences Research, 5(1), 383-397. https://doi.org/10.25147/ijcsr.2017.001.1.47
Gercek, M., & Ozveren, C. G. (2026). Linking Career Exploration and Decision Self-Efficacy to Career Engagement: A Sequential Mediation Model of Career Adaptability and Career Calling. International Journal for Educational and Vocational Guidance, 1-24. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10775-026-09799-x
Gholami, A., Nasr Esfahani, A. R., & Esfijani, A. (2023). Designing a Model for ICT-Based Faculty Development Programs. Journal of Training and Development of Human Resources, 10(37), 29-58.
Haseli Songhori, M., Soltanali, F., Ahmadi, R., & Yaghoubi, M. (2023). Investigating the Factors Affecting the Acceptance and Use of Learning Management System Technology by Students of Farhangian University. Journal of Social and Human Sciences, 15(1), 101-119.
Khalijian, S., Heidari, H., Pardalan, N., Hosseinian, S., & Ghavidel, H. (2023). The Role of Technology in Meeting the Training Needs of Organizations. Career and Organizational Counseling, 15(54), 9-28.
Kostan, M. (2021). Barriers to Digital Learning: Cost, Infrastructure, and Speed. Journal of Educational Technology & Society, 24(3), 112-125.
Mujalli, A., Khan, T., & Almgrashi, A. (2022). University Accounting Students and Faculty Members Using the Blackboard Platform during COVID-19: Proposed Modification of the UTAUT Model and an Empirical Study. Sustainability, 14(4), 2360. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14042360
Narouei, A., & Moslemizadeh, M. (2020). Identifying Effective Factors in Empowering Duty Staff: A Case Study of Duty Soldiers in Zahedan. Scientific Journal of Military Service Studies(4), 42-62.
Nematollahi, H. R., Mohammadesmaeili, N., Gholipour, A., & Pakdel, S. (2023). Identifying and Ranking the Effectiveness Factors of E-Learning System. Journal of Training and Development of Human Resources, 10(37), 143-176.
Nouri, R., Hatami, M., & Ebrahimian, F. (2017). Investigating the Factors Affecting IT Adoption and Its Impact on Human Resources. Electronic and Cyber Defense, 9(4), 127-153.
Nurse-Clarke, N., & Joseph, M. (2022). An Exploration of Technology Acceptance among Nursing Faculty Teaching Online for the First Time at the Onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Journal of Professional Nursing, 41, 8-18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.profnurs.2022.04.002
Ozkan-Ozen, Y. D., & Kazancoglu, Y. (2021). Analysing Workforce Development Challenges in the Industry 4.0. International Journal of Manpower, 42(5), 885-902. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJM-03-2021-0167
Pham, H. H., & Ho, T. T. H. (2020). Toward a 'New Normal' with E-Learning in Vietnamese Higher Education during the Post COVID-19 Pandemic. Higher Education Research & Development, 39(7), 1327-1331. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2020.1823945
Putra, A., Giatman, M., Syah, N., & Zulkifli, Z. (2026). A Paradigms and Theories of Career Development in Technology and Vocational Education and Training (TVET). JURNAL HURRIAH: Jurnal Evaluasi Pendidikan dan Penelitian, 7(2), 262-270. https://doi.org/10.56806/jh.v7i2.445
Regmi, K., & Jones, L. (2020). A Systematic Review of the Factors - Enablers and Barriers - Affecting E-Learning in Health Sciences Education. BMC Medical Education, 20(1), 91. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-020-02007-6
Shams Mourkani, G., & Abbasi Kasani, H. (2017). Pathology and Effectiveness of Training Transfer to the Workplace. Training & Development of Human Resources, 4(13), 27-58.
Sharifi Rahnemo, S., Fathi, A., & Abbasi, H. (2022). Structural Explanation of the Role of E-Learning on the Transfer of Workplace Training among Employees. Educational Technologies in Learning, 5(18), 97-123.
Shoghi Aghcheh Mashhad, F., Farrokhbakht Foumani, A., & Gholipour Soleymani, A. (2023). Presenting a Model for Technology and New Innovation Acceptance in Renewable Energy by Iranian Consumers with an Economic, Financial, and Social Approach Based on Grounded Theory. Financial Economics, 17(62), 123-146.
Shupinski, A., & Bachnik, K. (2022). Technology Barriers in Organizations. Journal of Business Research, 153, 150-161. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.08.007
Slutsky, R., Kragh-Müller, G., Rentzou, K., Tuul, M., Gol Guven, M., Foerch, D., & Paz-Albo, J. (2019). Empowerment and Quality of Education through Technology.
Uddin, M., Bal, H., Hoque, N., & Mamun, A. (2026). Entrepreneurship Education and Graduate Employability in Emerging Economies: A Moderated-Mediated Model of Employability Orientation and Career Awareness. The International Journal of Management Education, 24(2), 101415. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijme.2026.101415
Vasconcelos, P., Furtado, E. S., Pinheiro, P., & Furtado, L. (2020). Multidisciplinary Criteria for the Quality of E-Learning Services Design. Computers in human Behavior, 107, 105979. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2019.04.003
Zhang, J., Talib, M. A., & Wang, J. (2025). Enhancing Career Adaptability and Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy Through Career Planning Education: A Quasi-Experimental Study. Frontiers in psychology, 16. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1612768
Downloads
Publication Timeline
- Submitted
- Revised
- Accepted
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Fatemeh Mohammad Ebrahimzadeh Sepasgozar (Author); Mahboubeh Soleimanpour Omran; Mohsen Moradi (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
