Effect of self-serving bias in IS success model – implications for e-learning system success research

Abstract

User satisfaction has a central role in the research of e-learning system success, especially in studies utilizing DeLone and McLean IS success model. This critical review examines the role of self-serving bias in the context of e-learning system success. Self-serving bias refers to the tendency of attributing positive outcomes to internal causes and negative outcomes to external causes and is a phenomenon prone to occur in educational settings. In this article, the issue is first discussed based on previous literature. After that, three studies on e-learning system success are reviewed to highlight the role of user satisfaction in current e-learning system success research and the abundance of discussing self-serving bias as a possible confounding factor. As a result of the study, it´s suggested that due to the risk self-serving bias, user satisfaction should not be used as a sole measure for IS success when examining e-learning system success from the student viewpoint.