Antecedents of Cyberloafing among Administrative Employees in Ethiopian Higher Education Institutions: A Theory of Interpersonal Behavior Perspective

Abstract

This study explored the antecedents of cyberloafing among employees in public higher education institutions (HEIs) in the Amhara Regional State of Ethiopia using the Theory of Interpersonal Behavior (TIB). An explanatory and descriptive research design with a quantitative cross-sectional survey was employed. Measures of constructs were adapted from prior studies, validated through a pilot test, and distributed via a proportional stratified random sampling technique. Four universities, one from each generation, were selected, yielding 382 respondents. Data were analyzed using variance-based structural equation modeling (Smart-PLS) to test the proposed hypotheses. Results show that perceived consequences, affect, and social factors significantly influence employees’ intentions to cyberloaf, with social factors exerting the strongest effect. Intention was the most powerful determinant of actual cyberloafing, followed by habit, while facilitating conditions had a weaker but significant impact. These findings affirm the applicability of TIB in explaining workplace cyberloafing by highlighting the roles of cognitive evaluations, emotions, social norms, habitual tendencies, and organizational context. The study contributes theoretically by extending TIB to a non-Western organizational setting and practically by offering actionable insights for managing employee internet behavior through social norm interventions, awareness programs, and balanced digital-use policies.

Keywords:  Cyberloafing, Theory of Interpersonal Behavior, Higher Education institutions, Ethiopia.