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Active Citizenship and Trust in E-Government Services and Technology Acceptance in an Emerging Market

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This research investigates important issues related to e-government services utilization and adoption in a developing country. The purpose was to investigate the primary antecedents related to intention to use e-government services within the context of an emerging market. Lebanon presents a particularly good representation of a small developing emerging market that is making significant investments in egovernment technology. The strong predictive power of the research model has important implications for both researchers and practitioners who manage and implement e-government systems in emerging markets. The correspondingly strong predictive power of important independent antecedent variables within the model representing trust in the internet, active citizenship, and trust in government have particular importance in relation to consumer behavioural intent to use e-government services in an developing country with a pervasive perception of corruption by citizens.
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Consumer)Trust)and)Active)
Citizenship)Related)to)E-
Government)Services)In)An)
Emerging)Market
Dr.$Rania$Fakhoury,$D.B.A.
United$Nations$Development$Program$(UNDP)
Beirut,$Lebanon
Dr.$David$S.$Baker$$D.B.A.
Hesse/BORSF$Endowed$Associated$Professor$of$International$Business$and$
International$Marketing
University$of$Louisiana$at$Lafayette,$$USA
Overview
Purpose:$Investigate*acceptance*of*e-government*technology*within*the*
consumer*context*in*the*emerging*market*of*Lebanon.
Objective:$Te s t * a n d * v a l i d a t e * a n * e -government*adoption*model*that*
integrates*theoretically* justified*factors*constructs*of*active*citizenship*
and*governmental*trust*with*the*potential*for*use*in*future*comparative*
international* studies.*
Design/Method:$$Single*country,*cross-sectional* sur vey*of*454*citizens.* *
Final*useable*sample*of*296*respondents.**Standard*validity*testing*and*
confirmatory*SEM*used*to*test*the*constructs,*model,*and*hypotheses.
Key$Contributions$to$Research:$$
Research$into$Active$Citizenship$as$direct$antecedent$to$behavioral$intent$to$
utilize$e-government$services$within$developing$country$high$in$corruption.*
(136th out*of*175*countries*on*the**Transparancy.org*Corruption*Perceptions*
Index*2014)
Investigation$of$trust$in$government$as$an$indicator$of$Performance$
Expectancy.$
Very$strong$pre dictive$model.
Implications$related$to$the$relationship$between$building$active$citizenship,$
habit$transition,$and$trust$in$internet$will$increase$success$of$e-government$
investments$in$a$developing$market$such$as$Lebanon.$
Literature
E-Government*has*the*“ability$to$transform$relations$with$citizens,$
businesses,$and$other$arms$of$government”$(World*Bank*2003).
Resulting*benefits,*particularly*in*Emerging*Markets*can*be*less*
corruption,*increased*transparency,*greater*convenience,*revenue*
growth,*and/or*cost*reductions.**(World*Bank*2003).
Despite*its*potential,*even$where$infrastructure$is$present$e-
government$adoption$is$lagging,$particularly$in$developing$
countries.*(Heeks*and*Bailur*2007).
Thus,*research*is*necessary*to*better*understand*variables*that*
relate*to*consumer*motivation*to*use*e-government*services*
(Bhatnagar*2010;*Almahamid*et*al.*2010;*Patel*et*al.*2008).
Specifically,$Lebanon$has$issues$with$“Wasta,$which$is$pervasive$in$
dealing$with$the$government.$$The*United*Nations*Development*
program*has*shared*in*the*funding*of*e-government*services*
development*in*Lebanon,*but*lacks*research*on*the*factors*directly*
related*to*low*utilization.*(UNDP*2014).
Key)Terms)and)Definitions
Determinants$
Definitions
Performance*
Expectancy
The*degree*to*which*using* a*technology* will*provide*benefits* to*
consumers* in*performing*certain*activities* (Venkatesh* et*al.,*2012)
Effort*expectancy
The*degree*of*ease*associated*with*consumers’* use*of*technology
Habit*
The*extent*to*which*people* tend*to*perform*behaviours* automatically*
because* of* lear ning ”*(Venkat esh* et*a l.,*2012)
Facilitating*conditions
Consumers’* perceptions* of*the*resources*and*support* available*to*
perform* a*behaviour* (Venkatesh* et*al.,*2012)
Trust$of$th e$Internet
Trust$in $th e$security $meas u res , $s a fety $net s $an d $per forman c e$
structures$of$this$electronic$channel$(Carter$and$Belanger$2008)
Trust$of$th e$
Government
Percep tions$regarding$the$integrity$an d$ability$of$the$agency$providing$
the$service$(Carter$and$Belanger,$2008)
Active$Citizenship$
Participation$in$civil$society,$community$and/or$political$life,$
characterised$by$mutual$respect$and$non
-violence$and$in$accordance$
with$human $rights$an d$democracy”$(Hoskins$&$Mascherini,$2008,$p.$
462).
Behavioural*Intentions*
to*Use*E
-Government*
Services*
Person’s* intention**to*perform*various* behaviours* (Ajzen*&*Fishbein,*
1975,*p.*12)
The)Model
Figure 1: The Research Model
Behavioral*
Intentions*to*
use*e-
government*
services
*
Performance*
Expectancy
Habit
Facilitating*
Conditions
Effort*
Expectancy
H3
H1
Active*
Citizenship
Trust*of*the*
Government
Trust*of*the*
Internet
H5
H6
H7
H8
H2
H4
Hypotheses
Hypotheses
H
1: Effort expectancy has apositive effect on behavioural intentions to use e
-
government
services
H
2: Performance expectancy has apositive effect on behavioural intentions
to
use
e-government services
H
3: Habit has apositive effect on behavioural intentions to use e-
government
services
H4: Facilitating*conditions* has*a*positive* effect*on*behavioural* intentions* to*use*
e
-government* services.
H5:$
Trust*of*the* government* has*a*positive* effect*on* performance*expectancy.
H6:
Active*citizenship*has*a*positive* effect*on* performance* expectancy.
H7:
Trust*of*the*Internet*has*a*positive* effect*on* effort*expectancy.
H8:$
Trust*of*the*Internet*has*a*positive* effect*on* facilitating*conditions
Final)Model)Testing)Results
Behavioral*
Intentions*to*
use*e-
government*
services
*
Performance*
Expectancy
Habit
Facilitating*
Conditions
Effort*
Expectancy
H3
H1
*β*=0.163
*β*=0.403
*β*=0.186
*β*=0.242
Active*
Citizenship
Trust*in*
Government
Trust*in*
Internet
*β*=0.128
*β*=0.277
*β*=0.474
*β*=0.393
H5
H6
H7
H8
H2
H4
*Chi-square/df*=*1.999
CFI*=**0.995
RMSEA*=*0.058
R2*Adjusted*
=*74*%
Hypothesis)Testing
Hypotheses Results
H
1: Effort expectancy has a positive effect on behavioural intentions to use e-
government
services
Strongly
Suppo rted
β
=0.403
H
2: Performance expectancy has a positive effect on behavioural intentions to use e
-
government
services
Marginally
Suppo rted
β
= 0.163
H
3: Habit has a positive effect on behavioural intentions to use e-government services
Marginally
Suppo rted
β
=0.186
H4:$ F aci li tati ng$con ditions$ha s$a$pos iti ve$eff ect$on$ behavioural$i ntenti ons$to$us e$e
-
government$ s ervice s.
Suppo rted
β
=0.242
H5:$Trust$of$the$government$ has$a$positive$effect$on$
performance expectancy.
Supported
β=0.277
H6:$Active$citizenship$ has$a$positive$effect$on$
perf ormance $ expectanc y.
Margina lly
Supported
β
=0.128
H7:$Trust$of$the$Internet$has$a$positive$effect$on$effort$expectancy.
Stro ngly
Supported
β
=0.474
H8:$Trust$of$the$Internet$has$a$positive$effect$on$facilitating$conditions
Stro ngly
Supported
β
=0.393
Results
First,*this*model*confirms$and$supports$previous$research$on$
technology$acceptance$within$the$context$of$e-government$
utilization.
Effort*Expectancy,*Perf ormance*Expectancy,*and*F acilitating*
Conditions*all*show*antecedent*significance* to*Behavioral*Intent*to*
utilize*E-Government*services*within*this*emerging*market*cross-
sectional* sample.
Trust$in$Government$showed$a$strong$relationship$to*performance*
expectancy.
Active$Citizenship$showed$significance$to$performance$expectancy,$
but$it$was$only$moderate.
Trust$in$the$Internet$has$a$very$strong$relationship$to$both$
facilitating$conditions$and$effort$expectancy.$$
Post$hoc$analysis$showed$strong$relationships$between$Effort$
Expectancy$and$Performance$Expectancy$and$Trust$in$Government$
and$Trust$in$the$Internet.
However,*these*relationships*were*not*originally*hypothesized.
Implications
This*research*ties$trust$in$government,$active$citizenship$and$trust$
in$the$internet$directly$to$increased$behavioral$intent$to$utilize$e-
government.*
It*implies*that*e-government*success$will$have$a$better$chance$of$
success$with$active$citizens.$$
However,*the*moderate*support*for*the*hypothesis*suggests*further*
research*is*necessary*into*this*important*variable.*
It*suggests*that*without$a$comprehensive$consumer$education$
programs$to$coincide$with$the$introduction$of$an$e-government$
initiative,$it$is$likely$to$have$low$uptake.
For*example,*the*direct*link*between*trust*in*the*government*and*
performance*expectancy*could*be*mitigated*with*a*consumer$
education$program$related$to$the$benefits$of$increased$reliability$
and$security$of$e-government$services.*
Early$Adopters$should$be$targeted$in$active$citizen$engagement$
programs.**These*early*adopters*can*form*the*basis*of*higher*trust*in*
the*internet* e-government*programs*when*the*early*adopters*are*
seen* utilizing*the*benefits* of*the*serv ices* by*others.***
Limitations)and)Future)
Research
Single*country,*cross-sectional*sample.**Generalization*beyond*
Lebanon*is*therefore*a*limitation.
A*future*multiple*country*comparative*study*would*provide*
further*validation*of*the*model*and*make*the*study*more*
international*in*nature.*
This*research*was*effectively*exploratory*before*proceeding*to*
more*comprehensive*comparative*studies.
It*suggests*further*refinement*of*the*model*is*warranted.
While*the*model*provided*very*strong*predictive*power,*this$
study$suggests$that$modeling$of$antecedent$factors$
specifically$related$to$Performance$Expectancy$are$
warranted.$$
For*example,*antecedents*or*moderators*to*Active*Citizenship,*
Trust*in*Government,*and*Trust*in*the*Internet*should*be*
researched*in*the*context*of*e-government*services.
Thank$you!$
Questions?
Analysis)and)Results
Initial*model*had*some*fit*issues*related*to*theoretically*
justifiable*correlation*of*errors*between*some*constructs*.**
Research*supports*utilization*of*modification*indices*in*
instances*where*modifications*made*to*the*original*model*are*
substantively*meaningful*and*justified .**(Hoyle*1995)
Re-specification*utilizing*theoretically*justified*correlations*
resulted*in*an*acceptable*fit*without*significant*change*to*the*
original*factor*loadings*or*R*square*statistics.
Analysis)and)Results
Beta /p-value
(Before Modification)
Beta /p-value
(After Modification)
PE > BI
.544/0.000
0
.403/0.000
EE > BI
.218/0.000
0
.163/0.002
FC > BI
.249/0.000
0
.186/0.000
Habit > BI
.324/0000
0
.242/0.000
ACCI > PE
.245/0.000
0
.128/0.001
Trust Gov > P E
.253/0.000
0
.277/0.000
Trust I > EE
.475/0.000
0
.477/0.000
Trust I > FC
.394/0.000
0
.393/0.000
R2
2Adjusted Before modifica tio n 73.7
R
2Adjusted after modification 74%
Ta bl e 9 : Str uc t ur a l Model (before and after Modification)
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