Predictors of legislators' ICT acceptance and use in the performance of legislative functions at the Nigerian National Assembly.

Abstract

This study was conducted to determine the predictors of legislators’ acceptance and use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the performance of legislative functions in the Nigerian National Assembly (NASS), Abuja, Nigeria. A dominantly positivist paradigm using quantitative and qualitative approaches was used. The survey methodology was used and the questionnaire was distributed to all the 469 federal legislators of NASS. An in-depth interview was conducted on five principal officers of the NASS, namely the Chairs of House Committees on ICT and Education; the Chair of Senate Committee on Communication; Director of ICT; and the Clerk of NASS. The data collected through a survey questionnaire was analyzed using the statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) to generate summary and descriptive statistics, Pearson Multiple Correlation, Analysis of Variance, Stepwise Multiple Regression and Path Regression Analysis; while qualitative data was analyzed using content analysis and thematic analyses. The theoretical framework used for the study was an extension of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) by Venkatesh, Morris, Davis and Davis (2003). A test-retest reliability method of two weeks interval using Cronbach Alpha was conducted on 24 state legislators. The expected reliability stood at r=0.92, which was adequate for the study. Ethical considerations were taken into account with informed consent forms, approval seeking, permission and confidentiality. The findings showed that culture, academic qualification, attitude, behavioural intention, age and organizational impact were the most important predictors of ICT acceptance and use among legislators in NASS. The findings affirmed the ease of use of ICT of the legislators and suggested that legislators have a positive attitude towards ICT use. The findings showed that the legislators perceived ICT as useful and relevant to legislative work. The ICT usage level by legislators was generally low. The inhibitors of ICT acceptance and use that were found in the present study include: lack of exposure to e-parliament systems and fear of technology manipulation and political alienation. The findings on the relationships between independent and dependent variables (culture, ICT availability, facilitating conditions, effort expectancy, social influence, and performance expectancy) and the dependent variable (ICT acceptance and use) by legislators revealed that culture, facilitating conditions, effort expectancy, social influence and performance expectancy were positively correlated with ICT acceptance and use. ICT availability and performance of legislative functions, behavioural intention and gender were found to be negatively correlated with ICT acceptance and use. The findings of the tested hypothesis showed that independent variables (ICT skills, gender, age and level of education) were positively related. Findings revealed that independent variables (culture, ICT availability, facilitating conditions, effort expectancy, social influence and performance expectancy) jointly contributed 7.1% and 32% to the total variance in behavioural intention and user behaviour (moderator variables), respectively. The findings of the study contribute towards creating awareness of the potentials of ICT to support representative democracy in Nigeria. The study made recommendations that have the potentials to improve policy and practice of e-parliament by recommending the provision of ICT for legislators to fit cultural contexts in Nigeria and theoretical interventions to the model of technology adoption by using culture to extend the UTAUT to better explain the phenomenon in Nigeria. The overall conclusion in this regard was that variables such as trust, security, accessibility, power supply, motivation, ICT policy, often used to extend technology adoption models such as UTAUT in studies in Asia and South America, were not found relevant in the context of legislators in Nigeria. The study recommended the need for ICT change agents from among the legislators to support members to become truly mobile workers.