Smartphone use in learning settings is a common behaviour amongst college students. Building on the theory of consumerism, self-efficacy and addictive behaviours, the current study developed a three-component conceptual framework to understand college students' smartphone use in organizational as well as self-directed learning settings. One thousand and thirty-three students in Shenzhen completed an online survey that measured their frequency of using smartphones in learning settings, motivation for using smartphones in learning settings, behavioural control self-efficacy, smartphone use time, problematic smartphone use, multitask habit and impulsiveness. Regression and configurational analytical approaches were used to examine linear and nonlinear relationships. Results support the use of the proposed framework to explain students' smartphone use behaviour in learning settings.