The last three decades have witnessed noteworthy innovations in the educational landscape, owing to the widespread growth of information and communication technologies (ICT), enabled by the internet. Massive open online courses (MOOCs), in this regard, have received widespread popularity among educational researchers, instructors, and learners. Although the pace of development of MOOCs has been high, the degree of user participation has not been satisfactory, and the completion rates have been abysmally low. Learners’ frequent withdrawal or premature exit impedes the developmental progress of learning through MOOCs. Based on our review of the existing literature on MOOCs, research gaps that point to future research possibilities were identified. Integrating a myriad of established motivational theories and information systems models, we propose to conduct three separate studies to examine the effects of motivating factors influencing individuals’ behavioral intention, continuance intention and engagement in using MOOCs. The results of our study aim to help the MOOC administrators and educational institutions in formulating suitable strategies for the design and delivery of MOOC courses to improve learner participation and engagement in future.