User interactive service provisioning framework for enhancing citizens’ adoption of mobile enabled government services in Tanzania.

Abstract

Mobile enabled government (m-government) services are trending due to the envisaged efficiencies in time, access, and freedom of movement that mobile and wireless technology accords public administration and service provision. These benefits are only attainable if citizens adopt m-government services. However, adoption of m-government services has persistently continued to be a challenge worldwide. Consequently, this study investigates the challenges associated with citizens’ adoption of m-government services and recommends a service-provisioning framework to mitigate the identified challenges. The framework is informed by a holistic examination of both provision and consumption perspectives towards m-government service adoption. The provision perspective focuses on unveiling the provisioning practices, while the consumption perspective focuses on identifying factors that influence citizens’ adoption decisions for m-government services. The study applied a mixed-methods approach in a two-phased research process, that is, the adoption challenges identification and the framework evaluation. It employed a questionnaire and interview approach to collect data in the adoption challenges identification phase, and a mix of open- and closed-ended questions for the framework evaluation phase. A total of 396 citizens constituted the sample for the quantitative part, and 16 employees from four participating government organisations constituted the sample for the qualitative part of the challenge identification phase. In the framework evaluation phase, a sample of 12 experts was consulted to assess the viability of the developed service-provisioning framework to mitigate the citizens’ adoption challenges for m-government services. The study used the structured equation modeling (SEM) technique for quantitative data analysis and a thematic analysis technique for the qualitative data. Findings indicate that while emotional and cognitive factors significantly affect citizens’ adoption decisions, they are negligibly addressed in the current provisioning practices for m-government services. Hence, the developed service-provisioning framework advocates for an interactive citizen-centric provisioning practice to facilitate mitigating the adoption challenge. Findings for the framework evaluation divulge that the framework is suitable in addressing citizens’ challenges in adopting m-government services. Thus, the constructed framework will assist government organisations in Tanzania to develop and provide highly adoptable m-government services. This study recommends ongoing IT skills building trainings for both citizens and public officers to facilitate awareness and acceptance of m-government services.