Citizens’ Adoption of Pay-to-Use E-Government Services: An Empirical Study

Abstract

Evidence exists that citizens’ demand for pay-to-use e-government services is highly price-elastic. But research on citizens’ adoption of e-government remains almost entirely pre-occupied with contexts wherein it is implicit that citizens would not face any monetary cost implications. The fact that Technology Acceptance model (TAM) and Perceived Characteristics of Innovating (PCI) do not factor in potential adopters’ monetary cost perceptions is a plausible reason for such bias in research efforts. The paper posits a model wherein the value perceived by a citizen in government-to-citizen (G2C) online channel, and traditional public service delivery channel are antecedents of his or her intention to use the online channel. The model was tested in the context of the rail ticketing service of Indian Railways (a Department of India’s federal government). Results support the hypothesized paths, and offer useful managerial guidance to encourage citizens’ adoption. The paper discusses the prospect of certain adverse consequences for public administration and citizens, which could be linked to e-government and user charges, and ways to mitigate them. Research implications are also discussed.