Investigating Effects of Online Learning Environment on Academic Stress among MBA Students in Sri Lanka Mediated by Lecturer Support

Abundant MBA students are experiencing academic stress as a result of the rapid growth of online learning, which has revealed new issues with student retention. With a focus on online MBA students from Sri Lanka, this study investigated the relationship between academic stress and different retention techniques. This study investigated the relationship between online learning and academic stress, proposing lecturer support as a mediating factor. This research employs a quantitative methodology through a structured self-completed survey administered to 429 MBA students from accredited Sri Lankan universities using convenience sampling. Modern theories of education, such as the Technology Acceptance Model (Davis, 1989) and the Transactional Model of Stress (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984), serve as the foundation for these variables. This study used SmartPLS-structural equation modeling (SEM) to examine the data and assess whether the developed hypotheses were correct. In this study, a systematic methodology was used to evaluate both direct and mediated relationships. The results that reveal the effect of lecturer support on academic stress on an individual level gave thorough insight. Institutions and lecturers can use the study's findings to reduce academic stress and create retention tactics that students are motivated to employ. Furthermore, the study's results provided a foundation for an effective and stimulating learning environment. Moreover, this study added to the expanding corpus of research on online education by emphasizing the need for teacher support and tailored interventions to improve student well-being and retention rates in online learning settings.