Developing the Industry Expert Influence Construct for UTAUT Integration: A Systematic Review in Vocational Education Technology Adoption
Keywords:
vocational education; industry expert influence; technology acceptance; UTAUT; systematic literature reviewAbstract
Amid the accelerated digital transformation of vocational education and training (VET), students often exhibit passive acceptance and authority dependence when using online learning platforms. Although the unified theory of acceptance and use of -technology (UTAUT) is widely applied, its "social influence" construct primarily reflects normative pressure, failing to capture the non-coercive influence exerted by industry experts. This study aimed to conceptually develop and theoretically position a novel construct, Industry Expert Influence (IEI), within the UTAUT framework. Guided by the PRISMA protocol, 27 empirical studies from Web of Science and Scopus (2015–2025) were systematically reviewed. The review revealed that industry experts significantly enhanced students' professional identity, career-driven motivation, self-efficacy, and perceived utility by reinforcing the real-world relevance of learning content. Through hybrid thematic analysis combining deductive and inductive coding, IEI was derived as a novel construct comprising four core dimensions: Expertise, Trustworthiness, Referent Influence, and Rational Influence Strategy. IEI is posited as a critical antecedent of technology adoption, driving behavioral intention by reshaping Performance Expectancy and Effort Expectancy. Future research is recommended to develop a context-specific IEI scale and examine the moderating role of cultural power distance.
https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.25.7.2
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