Purpose

This study aims to examine how three perceived interactivity attributes of massive open online courses (MOOCs), namely, perceived active control, perceived synchronicity and perceived two-way communication, impact individuals' engagement and continuance intention of MOOCs through the stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) lens and how that effect differs between male and female users.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing upon S-O-R as an overarching theoretical framework, this study conducted an empirical study in China and collected 294 valid questionnaires from online learners. Structural equation modeling approach was used to examine the proposed research model.

Findings

Empirical results suggest that perceived active control, perceived synchronicity and perceived two-way communication are significant stimuli of individuals' continuance intention of MOOCs, and the influences of perceived active control and perceived synchronicity are partially or fully mediated by engagement on the platform. Multi-group analysis results further indicate that perceived synchronicity has a stronger influence on engagement on the platform for males, while perceived active control and perceived two-way communication are more salient in stimulating engagement on the platform for females.

Practical implications

Research findings from the present study can serve as the foundation to guide MOOCs’ administrators to respond to the needs of participants through interactivity designed into the platform and shed light on possible key solutions of high dropout rates in MOOCs.

Originality/value

This study uncovers the mediating mechanism of affective engagement between interactivity and continuance intention in the emerging context of the latest online learning platform MOOCs and reveals the behavioral differences between females and males regarding their affective reactions to the three interactivity attributes.