Adoption and utilisation of e-government systems by citizens in SADC: the case of Zambia and Zimbabwe.
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Date
2017
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Abstract
Electronic government (e-Government) offers great opportunities for transforming the public
service delivery systems by providing an effective, efficient and transparent tool for facilitating
the active participation of citizens in government decision making processes and for achieving
good governance. However, the success of e-government is not entirely dependent on the
provision of excellent e-government systems (supply-driven), but also on other factors like
system acceptance and utilisation by citizens. Whilst the United Nations e-Government
Surveys have demonstrated the proliferation of e-government initiatives in both developed and
developing countries, the implementation, adoption and utilisation of such systems in
developing nations is constantly affected by many challenges. Many citizens are hesitant to
adopt and use e-government systems for various reasons and in some cases, such decisions are
indeed merited. Citizens’ awareness, technical aptitude, confidence and trust in the government
and its e-government systems are salient factors that are impacting the acceptance and
utilisation of such systems. Similarly, practitioners (decision and policy makers, designers and
implementers) of e-government have noted that most of the challenges being encountered by
citizens are distinctively pertinent to national and regional socio-economic, cultural, political,
and technological circumstances, and thus require a contextual and holistic approach for
solutions.
This study is driven by the quest to examine and establish the fundamental factors that are
affecting citizens’ capacity, effort and behavioural intentions to adopt and continue using egovernment
systems in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region; using
Zimbabwe and Zambia as a case study. Thus, this study focuses on the government to citizen
(G2C) domain with particular emphasis on the citizen-side. Currently, there are no holistic,
people-driven models that could be used to assist and guide practitioners on e-government
maters (including guiding citizen-informed designs and implementation, predicting and
stimulating adoption and utilisation) for the SADC region and other developing nations with
similar socio-economic and technological settings. This study aims to develop a people-driven
e-government adoption and utilisation model (PDEGAUM), build upon two long-established
theoretical frameworks; the Extended Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology
(UTAUT2) (focused on understanding the demand-side) and the ITU E-Government
Implementation Toolkit (focused on understanding how the supply-side could be aligned with,
and be informed by, the demand-side).
An explanatory sequential mixed methods approach was considered most appropriate for
testing the PDEGAUM conceptual model. Multistage sampling techniques were used to select
the 800 respondents (drawn from Zimbabwe and Zambia) for the survey method (selfadministered
questionnaires were used). After the pre-analysis screening of the quantitative
data, only 736 questionnaires were used for data analysis (comprised of 489 citizens who have
used e-government systems and 247 have not used). Explanatory Factor Analysis (EFA) and
regression analysis (using IBM Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS)); and
structural equation modelling (SEM) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) (using IBM
Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS)) were selected for testing the model fit of the
proposed model. All but one of the hypotheses was confirmed by this study. Semi-structured
interviews (serving a confirmatory role) were pursued with 8 purposively selected interviewees
from the respondents who had participated earlier on in the survey. The Total Quality
Framework (TQF) was adopted as the most suitable theoretical lens for guiding the analysis of
the qualitative data; thematically using the Nvivo Plus qualitative data analysis software
(QDAS). The qualitative results confirmed the quantitative results.
Findings of this study confirm the proposed PDEGAUM model as being suitable for the SADC
region. The PDEGAUM model is novel in that it places citizens’ demands and input at the
centre stage of spearheading e-government initiatives, which in turn informs e-government
implementation. This approach contradicts the supply-driven approach by being contextuallyaware
of citizens’ concerns in-line with e-government initiatives. Such a holistic gesture by the
government is believed to go a long way in fostering and stimulating the adoption and
utilisation of e-government systems. Decisively, the findings of this study have demonstrated
that a people-driven approach constitutes the basis for rolling-out successful e-government
systems, particularly in the context of the SADC region and other developing countries that are
plagued by complicated socio-economic and political dynamics.
Description
Doctoral degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.