The dual-path mechanism underlying the influence of gamification categories on continuous use intention toward MOOCs

Although previous studies have corroborated the pivotal role of gamification in shaping learners’ continuous use intention toward to massive open online courses (MOOCs), the underlying psychological mechanisms remain underexplored. Grounded in the cognitive-affective personality system (CAPS) theory, this study advances a dual-path mediating model to elucidate how distinct gamification categories are associated with the continuous use intention toward MOOCs (CUIM). By combining offline and online questionnaire surveys, we collected a total of 416 valid samples, which were subsequently analyzed via partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The results demonstrate that this proposed model accounts for most of the variance in CUIM. Furthermore, gamification categories are shown to exert a positive relationship with CUIM. More importantly, this relationship is mediated by two key factors: goal commitment and perceived enjoyment. Collectively, these findings provides robust empirical evidence in support of all research hypotheses, thereby consolidating the theoretical foundation for CUIM, and providing practical insights for designing more engaging gamified MOOCs aimed at boosting learner retention.