Modeling end-user adoption of e-government services in Abu Dhabi

272 Pages·2016·4.07 MB·English

by  Eltahir Kabbar

Curtin Business School
School of Information Systems

Modeling end-user adoption of e-government services in Abu
Dhabi

Eltahir Fadul Kabbar

This thesis is presented for the Degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
of
Curtin University

July 2016
Declaration
To the best of my knowledge and belief, this thesis contains no material previously
published by any other person except where due acknowledgment has been made.
This thesis contains no material which has been accepted for the award of any other
degree or diploma in any university.
The research presented and reported in this thesis was conducted in accordance with
the National Health and Medical Research Council National Statement on Ethical
Conduct in Human Research (2007) – updated March 2014. The proposed research
study received human research ethics approval from the Curtin University Human
Research Ethics Committee (EC00262), Approval Number IS_10_15 (20 October
2010) and IS_14_06 (24 February 2014).

Signature: ………………………………………….
Date: …11/07/2016……………………...

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Abstract
A number of recent reports indicate that several governments around the world are
increasingly using internet technologies to provide public services. These services
range from providing the most basic informational website to deploying smart
government services using sophisticated tools for managing interactions between
government agencies and beyond government. This has resulted in the development
of many e-government initiatives that aim to enhance the delivery of government
services to citizens and improve interactions with business and industry. The e-
government initiatives in various countries have focused on replacing their traditional
government services with ‘online’ alternatives. To accomplish this, governments have
spent a lot of money to create the technology infrastructure required to enable end-
users to access a variety of online services.
A number of studies have examined the supply-side of e-government; however, it is
evident from the available literature that very few researchers have investigated the
demand for e-government services from the perspective of the end-users. Further, the
literature on technology adoption indicates that the perceptions and attitudes of
potential adopters’ regarding new innovations are critical to the successful acceptance
of these innovations. The aim of this research project is to examine the factors that
influence the uptake of e-government services by end-users in Abu Dhabi.
This project was completed in two phases. In the first phase, the researcher used a
qualitative approach to collect data from the study participants using two rounds of
semi-structured interviews. A sample of Abu Dhabi residents were interviewed in
order to determine the critical factors that influence their use (or lack of use) of e-
government services. Drawing on existing technology adoption literature and models
(such as DOI, TAM & UTAUT) and the findings from the qualitative phase, a
theoretical model that summarizes the six domains that emerged as a result of using
the qualitative research approach, as well as the relationships between these domains,
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was developed. The discovered domains were: Perceived Online Safety, Online
Experiences, Individual Significant Others, Motivations, Trust and Intention to Use.
The second phase of the study used a quantitative research method to assess the study
hypotheses formulated after completing the qualitative phase. During the quantitative
phase, a survey instrument was developed, tested and validated before it was used to
collect data from a cross-sectional sample of Abu Dhabi residents. The quantitative
data was then analyzed using Structural Equation Modelling techniques. The results
obtained confirmed that Online Experiences and Individual Significant Others are
significant factors in predicting end-users’ acceptance of e-government, explaining
54% of the variance. The results also indicate that Trust is not a significant factor,
contrary to findings in prior literature.
Finally, by providing insights into end-users’ perceptions of e-government services,
the findings of this study contribute to the literature on e-government adoption which
has hitherto been limited, especially in a non-western context. The study also
contributes a “grassroots” and validated e-government adoption model. The findings
of this study will be useful to both e-government researchers and practitioners
interested in promoting e-government.
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Acknowledgments
I would like to express my thanks and appreciation to many people without whom
this thesis would have not been what it is. First and foremost I would like to thank my
wife, Selma Abdallah Khalied, for her unconditional love, patience, support, and
encouragement. Without her support, I would not be where I am today. I would like
also to extend my thanks to my parents Fadul Kabbar and Fathia Altahir and to my
children Lena, Ahmad, Anas, Ayah and Ameen for their love and invaluable support.
I owe a debt of gratitude to my supervisor and mentor, Prof. Peter Dell, for his
guidance, help, support, and for the freedom he gave me to find my own path. Peter
is an outstanding teacher and supervisor whose deep knowledge, patience, words of
wisdom and positive criticism helped me complete this study. Peter, I am grateful for
the encouragement, dedication and moral support that you provided me from the very
beginning of this project and throughout this incredible journey during which I learnt
so many things. I thoroughly enjoyed the countless number of meetings that we had
over the past few years.
My thanks and appreciation also goes to my thesis committee, Prof. Heinz Dreher
(Chairperson of the committee) and Associate Prof. John Venable (co-supervisor),
from the School of Information Systems at Curtin University, for their help and
guidance especially during the candidacy phase of this project.
I would like to thank the Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT), UAE, for providing
the financial support that enabled me to present a part of Chapter Two of this study
at an international conference. I would like to extend my thanks to all of my colleagues
at HCT for their moral support.
Finally, I also extend my sincere gratitude and appreciation to the study participants,
from whom I learnt so many things; unfortunately, they cannot be named but they
know who they are.
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Table of Contents

Declaration ..................................................................................................................... i
Abstract ......................................................................................................................... ii
Acknowledgments ......................................................................................................... iv
Table of Contents ........................................................................................................... v
List of Figures ............................................................................................................... viii
List of Tables .................................................................................................................. x
List of Appendices ......................................................................................................... xi
1. CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................... 1
1.1 Study Objectives ................................................................................................ 1
1.2 The Study Location ............................................................................................ 3
1.3 Thesis Structure ................................................................................................. 4
2. CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW ....................................................................... 7
2.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 7
2.2 Theoretical Frameworks Review ....................................................................... 9
2.2.1 Diffusion of Innovation Theory (DOI) .............................................................. 10
2.2.2 Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) and Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) ... 19
2.2.3 Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) ............................................................ 24
2.2.4 The Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) ................................................................... 28
2.2.5 The Motivational Model (MM) ........................................................................ 33
2.2.6 The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) .............. 35
2.3 E-government adoption literature review ...................................................... 42
2.3.1 Application of UTAUT in e-government context ............................................. 42
2.3.2 Other models of e-government adoption ....................................................... 46
2.4 Conclusion ....................................................................................................... 50
3. CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODS .................................................................. 53
3.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................... 53
3.2 Research Aim and Objectives .......................................................................... 53
3.3 Research Significance ...................................................................................... 54
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3.4 Research Questions ......................................................................................... 54
3.5 Research Approach .......................................................................................... 55
3.5.1 Mixed Methods Research ................................................................................ 55
3.5.2 Qualitative Phase ............................................................................................. 62
3.5.3 Quantitative Phase .......................................................................................... 70
3.6 Ethical Considerations ..................................................................................... 85
3.6.1 Informed Consent ............................................................................................ 85
3.6.2 Confidentiality and Anonymity ........................................................................ 86
4. CHAPTER FOUR: QUALITATIVE PHASE .................................................................... 88
4.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................... 88
4.2 The Interview Process ...................................................................................... 88
4.3 Analytical Method Used .................................................................................. 92
4.4 Findings and Discussion ................................................................................... 96
4.4.1 The Interviewees ............................................................................................. 96
4.4.2 Identification of e-government Adoption-related Topics ............................... 98
4.5 Summary ........................................................................................................ 127
5 CHAPTER FIVE: QUANTITATIVE PHASE ................................................................. 129
5.1 Introduction ................................................................................................... 129
5.2 The Hypothetico-Deductive Process ............................................................. 130
5.3 The Theoretical Research Model ................................................................... 131
5.3.1 The Study Constructs ..................................................................................... 132
5.3.2 Research Hypotheses .................................................................................... 139
5.3.3 Controls ......................................................................................................... 147
5.4 Instrument Development .............................................................................. 147
5.5 The Sample .................................................................................................... 149
5.6 Screening the Dataset.................................................................................... 153
5.6.1 Missing Data .................................................................................................. 154
5.6.2 Outliers .......................................................................................................... 154
5.6.3 Normality of Data .......................................................................................... 155
5.7 Data Analysis and Results .............................................................................. 156
5.7.1 Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) ............................................................ 157
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5.7.2 Results of Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) ................................................. 158
5.7.3 Cluster Analysis .............................................................................................. 166
5.7.4 Results of Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) .............................................. 170
5.8 The Structural Models ................................................................................... 176
5.8.1 Hypotheses Testing Results ........................................................................... 179
5.9 Chapter Summary .......................................................................................... 182
6 CHAPTER SIX: DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS .................................................... 183
6.1 Introduction ................................................................................................... 183
6.2 Revisiting the Research Questions ................................................................ 183
6.2.1 RQ1: What are end-users’ perceptions of electronic interaction with
government agencies? .................................................................................. 184
6.2.2 RQ2: What makes end-users decide to use or not to use
e-government services? ................................................................................ 186
6.2.3 RQ3: What are the relationships between the factors affecting e-government
adoption? ....................................................................................................... 195
6.2.4 RQ4: What are the similarities and/or differences between the factors
influencing UAE nationals and expats adoption of e-government services? 196
6.3 The Study Contributions and Recommendations .......................................... 197
6.3.1 Methodological and Empirical Contribution ................................................. 197
6.3.2 Theoretical and Practical Contributions ........................................................ 199
6.4 Limitations and Future Research ................................................................... 202
6.4.1 Study Limitations ........................................................................................... 202
6.4.2 Direction for Future Research ....................................................................... 203
6.5 Summary ........................................................................................................ 204
References ................................................................................................................. 206
Appendices ................................................................................................................ 220

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List of Figures

Figure 2-1: A model of Five Stages in the Innovation-Decision
Process (Rogers, 2003) ................................................................................. 12
Figure 2-2: Adopter categorization based on innovativeness (Rogers, 2003) ................. 16
Figure 2-3: Diffusion Process (Rogers, 2003). .................................................................. 18
Figure 2-4 Factors determining a person’s behaviour
(Ajzen and Fishbein, 1980, p8) ..................................................................... 20
Figure 2-5 Theory of Planned Behaviour ......................................................................... 21
Figure 2-6: TAM (Davis et al., 1989) ................................................................................. 25
Figure 2-7: TAM2 (Venkatesh & Davis, 2000 p.188). ....................................................... 27
Figure 2-8: Bandura's SCT ................................................................................................ 29
Figure 2-9: The Model of PC Utilization. Thompson et al. (1991) ................................... 32
Figure 2-10: Extended Model of PC Utilization (MPCU). Thompson et al. (1994) .......... 32
Figure 2-11: Types of Motivations. Deci and Ryan (2000b, p. 72) ................................... 35
Figure 2-12: UTAUT model. Source: Venkatesh et al. (2003) .......................................... 37
Figure 2-13 : UTAUT2 Venkatesh et al. (2012) ................................................................. 41
Figure 2-14: eGAM Model by Shareef et al. (2011). ........................................................ 47
Figure 2-15: E-government adoption model in Pakistan (Rehman et al. 2012) .............. 50
Figure 3-1: Mixed Methods. Johnson et al. (2007, p. 124) .............................................. 57
Figure 3-2: Classification of the different types of mixed-methods research designs. ... 59
Figure 3-3: Flowchart of the basic Procedures in implementing an exploratory
design. Creswell and Plano (2011, p. 88) ..................................................... 60
Figure 3-4: Summary of the Research Approach Adopted .............................................. 61
Figure 3-5: Outcomes from Omitted Validities (from Straub, 1989 p. 152). ................... 76
Figure 3-6: Questions Answered by the Validities (Straub 1989, p.150). ........................ 77
Figure 4-1: Qualitative data analysis approach. .............................................................. 94
Figure 4-2: Taxonomic Analysis of e-government Adoption ......................................... 121
Figure 4-3: Domain-Relationships Model ...................................................................... 126
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Figure 5-1: Research Theoretical Framework ................................................................ 134
Figure 5-2: Sample Gender and Citizenship Distribution ............................................... 152
Figure 5-3: Sample Age group distribution .................................................................... 152
Figure 5-4: Sample Educational Attainment Distribution. ............................................. 153
Figure 5-5: Normal P-P Plot of Regression Standardized Residual ................................ 155
Figure 5-6: Six-Stage Process for Structural Equation Modeling. .................................. 159
Figure 5-7: Cluster Analysis Models Summary and Cluster Sizes. ................................. 168
Figure 5-8: Cluster Comparison. .................................................................................... 168
Figure 5-9: Scatter Diagram of ITU vs. MOT and TRU. ................................................... 169
Figure 5-10: CFA measurement theory model for E-government Adoption. ................ 172
Figure 5-11: Scatterplot diagrams using Regression Standardized Residual of
the study constructs ................................................................................... 178
Figure 5-12: Structural Model with hypotheses test results depicted on paths ........... 181
Figure 6-1 Model of the Significant Factors Affecting ITU ............................................. 186

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