Why Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have been resisted: A qualitative study and resistance typology

ABSTRACT

The current study presents a qualitative exploration of faculty reactions to Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) using a netnographic approach. We coded over 1,000 faculty blogs to reveal that resistance to MOOCs is nuanced and not always negative. Specifically, while minimal research has explored whether a potential innovation user has valid reasons for not immediately adopting an innovation, faculty resisted MOOCs using a range of reasons including negative reactions and catastrophization (threat-based resistance), perceived misalignment with professional values (cultural resistance), failure to meet student needs (pragmatic resistance), and a lack of demonstrated effectiveness (precautionary resistance). These findings have implications for scholarly conceptualisations of innovation reactions by suggesting some reactions may be constructive and help with innovation refinement, as in the case of MOOCs.

KEYWORDS:

• MOOCs
• innovation
• qualitative
• netnography
• blogs

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Madelynn Stackhouse

Madelynn Stackhouse is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Management at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Her research interests are in the area of innovation resistance, ethics in the workplace, and forgiveness/unforgiveness in the workplace.

Loren Falkenberg

Loren Falkenberg is a Professor and Senior Associate Dean of Graduate Programmes at the Haskayne School of Business at the University of Calgary, Canada. She is interested in an array of research topics related to corporate governance and corporate social responsibility/ESG. She has consulted with a range of companies on governance and corporate social responsibility programmes.

Carly Drake

Carly Drake is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Management & Marketing at North Central College. In her research, she examines phenomena related to gender, embodiment, and mental health in consumer culture and marketing communication.

Hossein Mahdavimazdeh

Hossein Mahdavimazdeh is an innovation and strategy researcher and practitioner. His areas of interest includes antecedents of organisational innovation, development of business models for technological innovations, and innovation in low-tech industries. Currently, he is a consultant with Arthur D. Little.