Opportunities for Internet use in the political process are constantly emerging. The use of the Internet to obtain political news and share political information is gaining momentum. Remote Internet... Show More

Opportunities for Internet use in the political process are constantly emerging. The use of the Internet to obtain political news and share political information is gaining momentum. Remote Internet voting initiatives are also growing in popularity. This study presents a model of Internet voting adoption that explores the predictors of the perceived usefulness of Internet voting systems. To test the model a survey is administered to 372 citizens. The results of structural equation modeling indicate that accessibility, convenience, disposition to trust, and Internet trust all have a significant impact on the perceived usefulness of Internet Voting. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Governments worldwide spend billions from their allocated IT budgets to deliver convenient electronic services to their citizens. As a result, it is important to encourage citizens to use these... Show More

Governments worldwide spend billions from their allocated IT budgets to deliver convenient electronic services to their citizens. As a result, it is important to encourage citizens to use these services to avoid potential failures. Yet, few empirical studies exist that cover the relevant issues of adoption from the perspective of citizens in developing countries. Moreover, the need for a well-validated instrument to capture citizen adoption of such services is vital, given the vast investment in technology and the potential cost-saving implications. This study integrates elements from the most popular theories, including adoption technology acceptance model (TAM), innovation diffusion theory (IDT), and theory of planned behavior (TPB), in conjunction with web trust models. It develops an instrument to measure citizens’ acceptance of electronic public services by utilizing confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) within the structural equation modeling technique. Findings of a large scale data sampling of citizens in Saudi Arabia indicate that the proposed measurement model is an acceptable fit with the data. Overall, the findings supply a rigorous instrument for measuring citizens’ acceptance of e-public services, providing further insights for researchers and offering policy makers a suitable tool with which to study proposed strategies.

This paper examines user intentions to accept or reject public e-services in Lebanon based on the model of acceptance of technology in households (MATH) and on the two-factors theory. Data were... Show More

This paper examines user intentions to accept or reject public e-services in Lebanon based on the model of acceptance of technology in households (MATH) and on the two-factors theory. Data were gathered in 2009 in two phases via interviews with open-ended questions in the first stage and through a survey questionnaire in the second phase. Results of the qualitative and the quantitative studies show that only a small percentage of Lebanese intended to accept government e-services. For intenders, perceived usefulness, perceived government support, computer self efficacy, and perceived government influences are key drivers of the e-services acceptance intention. For non-intenders, barriers such as fear of government control, lack of trust in security and privacy of personal information, lack of support, and lack of knowledge were most significant. In both studies, fear of government control was the most important determinant. Willingness to use public e-services will take place if the Lebanese government develops trust relationships with citizens, provides assurances that their financial details are secure, provides guarantees to protect the privacy of citizens, and does not employ e-services to increase political control over its citizens.

This paper describes a new conceptual approach of e-government application development in which end users such as government managers, responsible officials and citizens at different levels can... Show More

This paper describes a new conceptual approach of e-government application development in which end users such as government managers, responsible officials and citizens at different levels can engage in effective service delivery, particularly in the agricultural sector. This approach provides end-user specific customizable provisions in which responsible government officials can design public services for the target end-user groups/local citizens such as primary producers. In the G2C (Government to Citizen) dimension, the author focuses on a hypothetical case of an e-government solution that provides various agricultural extension services such as training, awareness, consultation services, and knowledge sharing services provision, according to individual or farming requirements. This initiative reinforces a shift from the traditional information portal process to a new provision where citizens/primary producers can actively contribute in designing their useful services from the relevant government agencies. This paper presents a generic process model and identifies the critical interplaying roles between the end-user groups. The study argues that the process model may be operationalized in various other government service sectors.