Impact of the Use of E-Learning Systems on Employee Training Efficiency in the Bottled Water Industry in Sri Lanka

Purpose – The bottled water industry (BWI) is recognized as an emerging sector that plays a key role in Sri Lanka's economic landscape, focusing on the production and distribution of packaged drinking water, primarily in Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) and glass bottles. It is source-specific and regulated by the Sri Lankan Health Ministry, which oversees aspects like pricing, bottle types, and bottle sizes. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the technological transformation process globally, leading to the rise of numerous enterprise solutions and online platforms. Aims(s) – Growing concerns about the post-pandemic environment, along with trends in digitalization, and the need to comply with mandatory frameworks, have increased the demand for efficient e-learning systems for employee training. Despite the growing adoption of e-learning systems, there is a lack of understanding regarding the factors that influence their effectiveness in IT employee training. This research aims to investigate the relationship between e-learning systems and other relevant factors, to gain insights into their impact on IT training outcomes. Design/methodology/approach – This article investigated the impact of e-learning efficiency on IT training within Sri Lanka's bottled water industry, employing a mono-quantitative research approach. A survey was administered to 278 employees across the industry using Google Forms, addressing three key objectives: assessing the use of e-learning systems, evaluating their perceived efficiency, and determining their impact on IT training outcomes. The research questions were examined through hypothesis testing. Findings – The findings provided strong support for the hypotheses, revealing significantly positive relationships between the dependent variable (e-learning use and efficiency) and the independent variables: perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influences, and facilitating conditions within the models. Statistical analyses, including reliability tests and correlation analyses, confirmed the robustness of the results. Limitations of the study – This study mainly concentrates on employees who worked in the Bottled Water Industry (BWI) in Sri Lanka and based on that, used a limited sample size which affects the generalization of the result. When gathering data for the questionnaire, self-reported experiences of the participants were relied upon, which could be subject to social desirability. Practical implications – Ultimately, this research enhances the understanding of e- learning efficiency and its role in improving IT training practices in Sri Lanka's bottled water industry, offering insights for further advancements in this field. Originality/value – There are a large number of research studies pertaining to E- Learning educational contexts but little research has been done to cover perspectives of employees in the Bottled Water Industry on E-learning systems. Hence, the research of this study advances our understanding of the efficiency of e- learning in enhancing effective IT training practices in the BWI in Sri Lanka