Assessing citizen adoption of e-Government initiatives in Gambia: A validation of the technology acceptance model in information systems success

Abstract

The technology acceptance model (TAM) has been used extensively to explain and predict users' acceptance of corporate information technology (IT). With the advancement in IT and the expanding popularity of internet applications in Gambia, e-Government has been a priority factor in rendering government services and in making information more accessible to citizens. This study shows how the TAM and e-Government initiatives would positively impact the Gambian government, despite the cultural differences within the country. This study developed a successful model of the Gambian e-Government system to assist Gambians with more efficient and cost-effective government operations. The study results reveal that the core constructs of the TAM have strong influences on user-intention towards e-Government products. This implies that the Gambian government can potentially utilize this study's TAM findings in other contextual settings to design and promote further implementation of e-Government systems.

Introduction

Electronic government (e-Government) uses information technology (IT), such as wide area network, the internet, and mobile computing to transform government operations and to provide citizens and organizations with more convenient access to government information and services (Campeau & Higgins, 1995). From a technical perspective, e-Government is a government of new technology to help simplify and automate transactions between itself and its constituents, businesses, or other governments (Jaeger, 2003); unfortunately, the process of diffusion in developing countries remains slow. The gap of IT diffusion between developed and developing nations may be due to socio-economic differences that inhibit access to IT. Alternately, this gap may be due to differences in literacy rates or an inability to effectively use IT.

e-Government is a fundamental element in the modernization of any government, serving as a means towards enhancing transparency, accountability, and good governance; making the government more result-oriented, efficient and citizen-centered; and enabling citizens and businesses to access government services and information as efficiently and as effectively as possible through the use of internet and other channels of communication (Aggelidid & Chatzoglou, 2008).

The use of IT in the government sector offers great opportunities for enhancing service quality and efficiency and trimming down governmental expenses. Effective and operational e-Government facilitates better and more efficient delivery of information and services to citizens, promotes productivity among public servants, encourages participation of citizens in government, and empowers all citizens (Kim et al., 2009a, Kim et al., 2009b). However, the widespread failure of e-Government projects suggests that e-Government often produces naïve optimism (Dishaw & Strong, 1999). Developed countries such as the U.S., Canada, and Finland are still leading the world in the field of e-Government. The information age holds the promise of new and powerful weapons in the arsenals of developing countries wrestling against economic, social, and political challenges. On the African continent, 40% of the adult population is illiterate and the PC penetration is the lowest in the world. In this context, e-Government platforms that provide an avenue for more direct governance to citizen and business participation in government would have much less cultural impact than they would in Western countries. Therefore, it is thus important to examine both the impact and implications of e-Government in developing countries (Bwalya, 2009).

The technology acceptance model (TAM) explains and predicts users' acceptance of new technology. Despite the large volume of research in this area, which focuses almost exclusively on corporate settings, few studies have applied the TAM to e-Government implementation in African countries. It is necessary to develop and establish empirical support for the TAM in explaining citizens' acceptance of e-Government systems initiated by governments in this area.

The purposes of this study are two-fold. First, while prior research on the TAM and e-Government focuses on developed countries, this study focuses on developing countries like Gambia, and how TAM impacts e-Government success and the country's developmental aspiration. We examine whether environment influences the impacts that the TAM model can have for e-Government initiatives, despite cultural differences. Second, this study examines the various factors affecting the intentions of Gambia's citizens to use e-Government facilities, and surveys a sample of citizens in Gambia. The results of this study can be replicated and extended to other countries in Africa to create a complete picture of critical factors affecting citizen acceptance of e-Government systems in these areas.