Information and communication technologies in the Kuwaiti Parliament: a user acceptance and ...

277 Pages·2017·2.74 MB·English

Information and communication
technologies in the Kuwaiti
Parliament: a use r acceptance and
adoption study

Jamella Hamdan Alotaibi

A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of
the University of Brighton for the degree of Doctor of
Philosophy

School of Computing, Engineering and Mathematics
University of Brighton
June 2017
Abstract

Today, information and communication technologies (ICTs) affect
political and administrative areas in a profound way, and the extent of
this impact increases day by day. Nowadays, ICTs are increasingly
employed to play an important role in the improvement of governmental
work. Parliaments are central institutions in democratic government
systems. ICT has the potential to assist in improving the representation
function of these Parliaments by expanding the information capabilities
for Parliaments and Members of Parliaments.
As with any new technology, user acceptance of the new technology is
often hard to measure. This thesis examines whether Parliamentarians in
Kuwait were practically willing to accept ICT of various kinds. It focuses
upon Kuwait, which has a developing economy with a rapid rate of
growth, and therefore makes a unique case study.
The unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT)
proposes that Performance Expectancy, Effort Expectancy, and Social
Influence predictBehavioural Intentiontowards the acceptance of
information technology. The theory further proposes that Facilitating
Conditions andBehavioural Intentionpredict use behaviour in the
acceptance of information technology. The theory has been assessed
using many different applications, and it has become the model for
measuring user acceptance. The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use

II
of Technology (UTAUT) with moderating variables such as age, gender
and education level has been used in this study as a proposed conceptual
framework. The study has also incorporated a model of cultural
difference, to explore the influence of cultural factors.
The study utilized mixed methods; questionnaires plus a set of
interviews, within a case study approach. Two kinds of questionnaires
were used. The first was an amended UTAUT model questionnaire and
the second the software system usability survey (SUS). The sample was
drawn from members of the Kuwaiti National Assembly, with 182
responses received. The interviews were conducted with Ministers,
Members of Parliament, Heads of departments, and some employees of
the National Assembly.
The study found that Performance Expectancy, Effort Expectancy,
Facilitating Conditions, and Self-Efficacy were direct determinants of
usage Intention in the Kuwait Parliament while Social Influence was not
an effective determinant in this study, against the predictions of the
UTAUT model.
Gender and educational level had no influence as moderators on the
determinant factors investigated in this study. However, age was found to
be a moderator on the impact of the determinants on usage Intention and
behaviour of the Parliamentarians for Performance Expectancy.
KEYWORDS: Technology acceptance model, UTAUT, E-Government,
E-Parliament, Culture, ICT, Kuwait.

III
Table of Contents
ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................................ II
TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................................................. IV
LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................................... VIII
LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................................ X
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .......................................................................................................... XII
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................... XIV
CHAPTER 1 : INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................1
1.1 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................1
1.2 AN OVERVIEW OF KUWAIT .................................................................................................2
1.2.1 General ........................................................................................................................2
1.2.2 Kuwaiti Political Background .....................................................................................6
1.3. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM .......................................................................................... 10
1.4. POTENTIAL SIGNIFICANCE ................................................................................................ 12
1.5. OBJECTIVES ....................................................................................................................... 13
1.6. RESEARCH QUESTIONS....................................................................................................... 14
1.7. STRUCTURE OF THE THESIS............................................................................................... 15
CHAPTER 2 : CONTRIBUTING RESEARCH FIELDS .............................................................. 17
2.1. E-GOVERNMENT, E-PARLIAMENT AND E-DEMOCRACY ................................................... 17
2.1.1 E-Government ........................................................................................................... 18
2.1.2 E-Government services ............................................................................................. 20
2.1.3 E-Parliament ............................................................................................................. 24
2.2. TECHNOLOGY ACCEPTANCE ................................................................................................... 42
2.2.1. Models of ICT Acceptance ........................................................................................ 43
2.2.2. E-Government Studies Using Technology Acceptance Models ............................... 57
2.3. CULTURAL DIFFERENCE .................................................................................................... 69
2.3.1. Models of Culture ...................................................................................................... 69
2.3.2. Cultural dimensions of Kuwait ................................................................................. 72
2.3.3. Culture and Technology Adoption ........................................................................... 75
2.4. SUMMARY ........................................................................................................................... 79
CHAPTER 3 : RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ............................................................................ 81
3.1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................. 81
3.2 RESEARCH PARADIGM ....................................................................................................... 81
3.3 RESEARCH METHODS ........................................................................................................ 88
3.3.1. Quantitative Methodology ......................................................................................... 88
3.3.2. Qualitative Methodology ........................................................................................... 88
3.3.3. Mixed Methodology ................................................................................................... 88
3.3.4. Case Study ................................................................................................................. 90
3.4. RESEARCH DESIGN ............................................................................................................ 91
3.5. RESEARCH MODEL ............................................................................................................ 93
3.6. POPULATION AND SAMPLE .............................................................................................. 106
3.7. DATA COLLECTION .......................................................................................................... 108
3.7.1. Initial Interviews ..................................................................................................... 108
3.7.2. Questionnaire Surveys ............................................................................................ 111
3.7.2.1. Website Usability Evaluation - SUS ....................................................................... 111
3.7.2.2. Questionnaire Design ............................................................................................. 113
3.7.2.3. Pre-Testing .............................................................................................................. 116
3.7.2.4. Questionnaire Distribution ..................................................................................... 117
3.7.2.5. The Research Interviews ......................................................................................... 119
3.8. DATA ANALYSIS ............................................................................................................... 122
3.8.1. UTAUT Model Survey Analysis .............................................................................. 123
3.8.2. SUS Analysis ........................................................................................................... 126
3.9. RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY ........................................................................................... 127
3.9.1. UTAUT Model Questionnaire Reliability and Validity .......................................... 127
3.9.2. SUS Reliability and Validity ................................................................................... 128
3.9.3. Interview Reliability ................................................................................................ 128
3.10. ETHICAL ISSUES ............................................................................................................... 129
3.11. SUMMARY ......................................................................................................................... 130
CHAPTER 4 : RESULTS AND ANALYSIS ................................................................................. 131
4.1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................ 131
4.2 THE SURVEY SAMPLE ...................................................................................................... 132
4.2.1 Overview of Respondents ........................................................................................ 132
4.2.2 Gender ..................................................................................................................... 134
4.2.3 Age ........................................................................................................................... 135

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4.2.4 Education ................................................................................................................ 135
4.3 BACKGROUND OF PARLIAMENTARY WEBSITE USE ....................................................... 136
4.3.1 Actual Use of Parliamentary Website ..................................................................... 136
4.3.2 Years of Use ............................................................................................................. 137
4.3.3 Frequency of Use of Parliamentary Website .......................................................... 138
4.3.4 Adequacy of Use ...................................................................................................... 139
4.3.5 Self-Assessment of Experience ............................................................................... 140
4.4 OTHER INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES .................................... 140
4.5 SELF-REPORTED READING AND WRITING HABITS ......................................................... 142
4.6 RESULTS RELATING DIRECTLY TO UTAUT MODEL ..................................................... 146
4.7 USABILITY TESTING ......................................................................................................... 175
4.8 QUALITATIVE DATA ........................................................................................................ 178
4.8.1 Open-Ended Question ............................................................................................. 179
4.8.2 The Interviews ......................................................................................................... 180
4.9 SUMMARY ......................................................................................................................... 188
CHAPTER 5 : DISCUSSION .......................................................................................................... 190
5.1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................ 190
5.2 CURRENT WEBSITE USAGE ............................................................................................. 190
5.3 DEMOGRAPHIC AND OTHER FACTORS INFLUENCING INTENTION TO USE THE
PARLIAMENTARY WEBSITE .......................................................................................................... 195
5.3.1 Demographic and personal factors ......................................................................... 195
5.3.2 Further Factors ....................................................................................................... 198
5.4 CULTURAL DIFFERENCES ................................................................................................ 204
5.5 IMPLICATIONS ON THE UTAUT MODEL ........................................................................ 208
5.6 SUMMARY ......................................................................................................................... 210
CHAPTER 6 : CONCLUSION ....................................................................................................... 211
6.1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................ 211
6.2 CONTRIBUTION TO KNOWLEDGE .................................................................................... 211
6.3 PRACTICAL RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE STUDY .................................................... 215
6.3.1 Suggestions For Process and Functionality ................................................................... 215
6.3.2 Suggestions For Encouraging Take-Up ........................................................................ 216
6.4 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY ........................................................................................... 217
6.5 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH ............................................................... 220
6.6 SUMMARY ......................................................................................................................... 221
REFERENCES ................................................................................................................................. 222

VI
APPENDICES .................................................................................................................................. 249
APPENDIX I: THE RESEARCH INTERVIEWS QUESTIONS ............................................ 250
APPENDIX II: QUESTIONNAIRE SURVEY .......................................................................... 251
APPENDIX III: THE ITEMS THAT MEASURE THE RESEARCH MODEL
CONSTRUCTS ............................................................................................................................ 260

VII
List of Tables

TABLE 1.1: KUWAITI POPULATION (+30 YEARS) .....................................................................................5
TABLE 1.2: KUWAITI POPULATION (20 - 29 YEARS) ................................................................................6
TABLE 1.3: GENDER OF CANDIDATES FOR ELECTION .............................................................................9
TABLE 2.1: TECHNOLOGY ACCEPTANCE MODELS ................................................................................ 45
TABLE 2.2: HOFSTEDE’ DIMENSIONS IN KUWAIT .................................................................................. 74
TABLE 2.3: CHARACTERISTICS AND FEATURES IN KUWAIT .................................................................. 75
TABLE 2.4: HOFSTEDE’ DIMENSIONS FOR US AND SAUDI ARABIA ....................................................... 79
TABLE 3.1: DETERMINANTS OF BEHAVIOUR IN ACCEPTANCE MODELS ................................................ 95
TABLE 3.2: EXPLAINED VARIANCE IN THE MODELS ............................................................................. 96
TABLE 4.1: NUMBER OF RESPONSES IN TERMS OF OCCUPATION AND GENDER ................................... 134
TABLE 4.2: NUMBER OF RESPONSES IN TERMS OF AGE ....................................................................... 135
TABLE 4.3: NUMBER OF RESPONSES IN TERMS OF LEVEL OF EDUCATION ........................................... 136
TABLE 4.4: THE NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS WHO USE OTHER TECHNOLOGIES ..................................... 141
TABLE 4.5: PARTICIPANTS WHO USE OTHER TECHNOLOGIES IN TERMS OF PURPOSE ............................ 142
TABLE 4.6: PARTICIPANTS WHO USE OTHER TECHNOLOGIES IN TERMS OF PLACE ................................ 142
TABLE 4.7: THE NUMBER OF RESPONSES IN TERMS OF READING AND WRITING HABITS ....................... 144
TABLE 4.8: PARTICIPANTS CONSIDERED WHETHER THEIR ARABIC LANGUAGE IS AN OBSTACLE ......... 145
TABLE 4.9: SPEARMAN’S CORRELATIONS BETWEEN BI ITEMS AND PE ITEMS FOR N=173 .................. 149
TABLE 4.10: SPEARMAN’S CORRELATIONS BETWEEN BI AND PE FOR N=173 ..................................... 149
TABLE 4.11: SPEARMAN’S CORRELATIONS BETWEEN BI ITEMS AND PE ITEMS FOR N=173 ................ 151
TABLE 4.12: MODEL SUMMARY BI, PE, AND AGE .............................................................................. 152
TABLE 4.13: ANOVA RESULTS FOR BI, PE, AND AGE ........................................................................ 152
TABLE 4.14: REGRESSION COEFFICIENTS FOR BI, PE, AND AGE ......................................................... 153
TABLE 4.15: SPEARMAN’S CORRELATIONS BETWEEN BI ITEMS AND EE ITEMS FOR N=173 ................ 154
TABLE 4.16: SPEARMAN’S CORRELATIONS BETWEEN BI AND EE FOR N=173 ..................................... 154
TABLE 4.17: SPEARMAN’S CORRELATIONS BETWEEN BI ITEMS AND EE ITEMS FOR N=173 ................ 156
TABLE 4.18: SPEARMAN’S CORRELATIONS BETWEEN BI AND EE FOR N=173 ..................................... 156
TABLE 4.19: MODEL SUMMARY BI, EE, AND AGE .............................................................................. 157
TABLE 4.20: REGRESSION COEFFICIENTS FOR BI, EE, AND AGE ......................................................... 158
TABLE 4.21: MODEL SUMMARY BI, EE, AND EDUCATION .................................................................. 159
TABLE 4.22: REGRESSION COEFFICIENTS FOR BI, EE, AND EDUCATION ............................................. 159
TABLE 4.23: SPEARMAN’S CORRELATIONS BETWEEN BI ITEMS AND SI ITEMS FOR N=173 ................. 160
TABLE 4.24: SPEARMAN’S CORRELATIONS BETWEEN BI AND SI FOR N=173 ...................................... 160
TABLE 4.25: SPEARMAN’S CORRELATIONS BETWEEN BI ITEMS AND SI ITEMS FOR N=173 ................. 162
TABLE 4.26: SPEARMAN’S CORRELATIONS BETWEEN BI AND SI FOR N=173 ...................................... 162
TABLE 4.27: MODEL SUMMARY BI, SI, AND AGE ............................................................................... 163
TABLE 4.28: REGRESSION COEFFICIENTS FOR BI, SI, AND AGE .......................................................... 163
TABLE 4.29: MODEL SUMMARY BI, SI, AND EDUCATION ................................................................... 164
TABLE 4.30: REGRESSION COEFFICIENTS FOR BI, SI, AND EDUCATION .............................................. 164
TABLE 4.31: SPEARMAN’S CORRELATIONS BETWEEN BI ITEMS AND FC ITEMS FOR N=173 ................ 166
TABLE 4.32: SPEARMAN’S CORRELATIONS BETWEEN BI AND FC FOR N=173 ..................................... 166
TABLE 4.33: MODEL SUMMARY BI, FC, AND AGE .............................................................................. 167
TABLE 4.34: REGRESSION COEFFICIENTS FOR BI, FC, AND AGE ......................................................... 167
TABLE 4.35: MODEL SUMMARY BI, FC, AND EDUCATION .................................................................. 168
TABLE 4.36: REGRESSION COEFFICIENTS FOR BI, FC, AND EDUCATION ....................................... 168
TABLE 4.37: SPEARMAN’S CORRELATIONS BETWEEN BI ITEMS AND AX ITEMS FOR N=173 ............... 169
TABLE 4.38: SPEARMAN’S CORRELATIONS BETWEEN BI AND AX FOR N=173 .................................... 169
TABLE 4.39: SPEARMAN’S CORRELATIONS BETWEEN BI ITEMS AND SE ITEMS FOR N=173 ................ 171
TABLE 4.40: SPEARMAN’S CORRELATIONS BETWEEN BI AND SE FOR N=173 ..................................... 171
TABLE 4.41: SPEARMAN’S CORRELATIONS BETWEEN BI ITEMS AND AT ITEMS FOR N=173................ 172
TABLE 4.42: SPEARMAN’S CORRELATIONS BETWEEN BI AND AT FOR N=173 .................................... 172
TABLE 4.43: THE SUMMARY OF THE HYPOTHESES TESTING ................................................................ 173
TABLE 4.44: SUPPORTED HYPOTHESES................................................................................................ 174
TABLE 4.45: NON-SUPPORTED HYPOTHESES ....................................................................................... 175
TABLE 4.46: THE NUMBER OF RESPONSES FOR THE SYSTEM USABILITY TESTING N=173 ................... 176
TABLE 4.47: RESPONSES FOR THE SYSTEM USABILITY TESTING ......................................................... 178
TABLE 4.48: INTERVIEW PARTICIPANTS .............................................................................................. 181
TABLE 4.49: SUMMARY OF INTERVIEW QUESTIONS AND THEIR OBJECTIVES ....................................... 182

IX
List of Figures

FIGURE 1.1: KUWAITI NATIONAL ASSEMBLY .........................................................................................3
FIGURE 1.2: KUWAITI NATIONAL ASSEMBLY .........................................................................................7
FIGURE 2.1: TOP 10 E-GOVERNMENT DEVELOPMENT COUNTRIES ....................................................... 20
FIGURE 2.2: TOP 10 E-GOVERNMENT DEVELOPMENT COUNTRIES ....................................................... 21
FIGURE 2.3: THE KUWAITI PARLIAMENTARY WEBSITE ........................................................................ 41
FIGURE 2.4: INNOVATION DECISION PROCESS ...................................................................................... 46
FIGURE 2.5: THE THEORY OF PLANNED BEHAVIOUR (TPB).................................................................. 48
FIGURE 2.6: TECHNOLOGY ACCEPTANCE MODEL ................................................................................. 50
FIGURE 2.7: UNIFIED THEORY OF ACCEPTANCE AND USE OF TECHNOLOGY (UTAUT) ........................ 52
FIGURE 2.8: INFLUENCE OF MODERATORS............................................................................................. 56
FIGURE 2.9: OLASINA AND MUTULA (2015) RESEARCH FRAMEWORK .................................................. 68
FIGURE 2.10: MODEL USED BY DINEV ET AL (2006) .............................................................................. 78
FIGURE 3.1: RESEARCH APPROACH, METHODOLOGY AND METHODS ................................................... 85
FIGURE 3.2: THE STUDY’S MIXED METHODS RESEARCH DESIGN ......................................................... 93
FIGURE 3.3: AMENDED UTAUT MODEL (RESEARCH MODEL) ........................................................... 106
FIGURE 3.4: A COMPARISON BETWEEN SUS AND OTHER ALTERNATIVES ............................................ 113
FIGURE 3.5: LIKERT 7-POINT SCALE .................................................................................................... 115
FIGURE 3.6: GRADE RANKINGS OF SUS SCORES.................................................................................. 127
FIGURE 3.7: A COMPARISON OF QUESTIONNAIRES FOR ASSESSING WEBSITE USABILITY ................... 128
FIGURE 4.1: PERCENTAGE OF RESPONSES IN TERMS OF GENDER. ......................................................... 134
FIGURE 4.2: ACTUAL USE OF PARLIAMENTARY WEBSITE .................................................................... 137
FIGURE 4.3: YEARS OF USE THE PARLIAMENTARY WEBSITE ............................................................... 138
FIGURE 4.4: FREQUENCY OF USES OF THE PARLIAMENTARY WEBSITE ................................................ 139
FIGURE 4.5: ADEQUACY OF USE THE PARLIAMENTARY WEBSITE ........................................................ 140
FIGURE 4.6: EXPERIENCE OF USE PARLIAMENTARY WEBSITE ............................................................. 140
FIGURE 4.7: READING AND WRITING HABITS AS AN OBSTACLE ........................................................... 144