Analyzing Continuance of Cloud Computing in Higher Education Institutions: Should We Stay, or Should We Go?

Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) consider resource optimization as an essential concern. Cloud computing (CC) in the fourth industrial revolution became the de-facto standard for delivering IT resources and services. CC is now a mainstream technology, andHEIs across the globe are rapidly transitioning to this model; hence, maintaining the retention of the customers of such technologies is challenging for cloud service providers. Current research concerning CC focused on adoption and acceptance. However, there is still a scarcity of research concerning such technology’s continued use in an organizational setting. Drawing on the prior literature in organizational-level continuance, this paper established a positivist quantitative-empirical study to bridge the research gap and assess the precursors for a continuance of cloud technology in HEIs. Subsequently, this study developed a conceptual framework by integrating the IS success model and the IS discontinuance model through the lens of the TOE framework. The data were collected from the decision-makers of Malaysian HEIs that have adopted CC services, and analyzed using Structural equation Modelling (SEM) based on Partial Least Squares (PLS). The results indicate that the continuance intention can be predicted by technology, organizational, environmental, and other contextualized factors, explaining 85.2% of the dependent variables’ variance. The paper closes with a discussion of the research limitations, contribution, and future directions.