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Transformation towards E-government in The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia PDF

278 Pages·2009·7.5 MB·English
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Transformation towards E-government in The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Technological and Organisational Perspectives By Abdullah Mohammed AL-Shehry A Doctoral Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Award of Doctor of Philosophy The School of Computing, CCSR, De Montfort University August 2008 ©By Abdullah Al-Shehry 2008 Abstract ABSTRACT E-government represents a fundamental change in the whole public sector structure, values, culture and the ways of conducting business by utilising the potential of ICT as a tool in the government agency. It fundamentally alters the way public services are delivered and managed. More and more governments around the world are introducing electronic government (e-government) as a means of reducing costs, improving services for citizens and increasing effectiveness and efficiency in the public sector. Therefore e-government has been identified as one of the top priorities for governments across the world. However, the introduction of e-government is about a radical change within government and about the relationship between a government and its citizens. Hence, the adoption of e-government raises important political, cultural, organisational, technological and social issues which must be considered and treated carefully by any government contemplating its adoption. Findings of several studies indicate that despite high costs of e-government projects, tangible and intangible, many e-government efforts are failing or are slowly diffusing. This study explores and investigates empirically how an e-government system can be adopted in developing countries taking the Saudi Arabian initiative as a case study. The key technological and organisational issues that affect systems development are investigated; and how these issues could be treated in practice. Following a review of the relevant literature in Information Systems, E-commerce and E-government, a theoretical framework is formulated. The framework is then applied in a real-world case study to support further data collection and to establish a view of e-government adoption at both national and agency levels. The case study involved 22 semi-structured interviews; a focus group; observations; 12 electronic reports; analysis of 22 documents; 25 official presentations; 12 websites and 19 newspaper articles and press releases. The interviewees included stakeholders such as senior officials from the public sector; independent experts from the private sector; academics; the e-government project team and a number of IT managers from - i - Abstract government ministries. The documents included all the key documents relating to the e- government project. Based on the data collected the initial framework is then revised by using the interpretive case study approach where triangulated data are extracted. The study then combined the evidence from the literature with the case study outcome to narrow the gap between e-government adoption theory and practice. As a result, a comprehensive framework including details about the key factors that affect e-government adoption is developed. The framework can be used as a tool to determine the road ahead for adoption an e-government system at national and agency levels and to identify the main practices, processes, and key conditions to move towards successful implementation. This study has made a novel contribution to the area of e-government and has expanded the boundaries of knowledge, especially for governments in developing countries that are seeking to adopt an e-government system. Key Words: E-government Adoption- Technological issues-Organisational issues- Saudi Arabia- National and Agency Level- Case study. - ii - Acknowledgements ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am greatly thankful to many people who assisted in the completion of this journey. First and foremost, my grateful thanks to my extraordinary and kind supervisors team Professor Simon Rogerson, Ben Fairweather and Mary Prior, It has been an honour to be your student; I could not have done this without you, your patience, constructive criticism, and insights. Throughout the last three years I have had the opportunity to share knowledge and ideas and learn from a number of people within the School of Computing, at De Montfort University, particularly within the Centre of Computing and Social Responsibility. I am very grateful for the support, help, guidance, teaching and resources that I have received, so thank you all. I am grateful to my Nation and my government in Saudi Arabia for their financial support throughout this PhD study. Thanks also to the participants who so kindly offered their valuable time in order for me to conduct this research; thanks for letting me have the opportunity to interview you and provide me with information. My deepest thanks for the back-up received from my family, particularly my wife Halemah Al-Shehry who has supported me during my study and devoted her time to me and our children (Amjad and Ghada). To all my friends, It was my honour to chose me as president for Saudi Club in Leicester and as Vice president for Saudi Students in UK & Ireland, sorry if I could give you more time due to my study, and thanks for your understanding and for caring about me. Many people have helped me during the last three years whom I wish to thank but whose names cannot be listed here. Above all, my greatest thanks and gratitude to my God the Almighty, who gave me the strength and perseverance to endure this challenging task. - iii - Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY ................. 1 1.1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................ 1 1.2 RESEARCH BACKGROUND ......................................................................... 3 1.3 RESEARCH PROBLEM STATEMENT ......................................................... 7 1.4 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES ............................................................................. 8 1.5 RESEARCH QUESTIONS ............................................................................... 9 1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RESEARCH .......................................................... 9 1.7 ORGANIZATION OF THE THESIS ............................................................. 10 CHAPTER 2 RESEARCH FRAMEWORK ................................................................. 15 2.1 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................... 15 2.2 E-GOVERNMENT CHARACTERISTICS ................................................... 15 2.2.1 Definition of E-government ...................................................................... 16 2.2.2 E-government Evolution Life-Cycle ......................................................... 20 2.2.3 Reasons for the Adoption of E-government ............................................. 24 2.3 E-GOVERNMENT AND E-COMMERCE .................................................... 26 2.4 E-GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC SECTOR REFORM .............................. 29 2.4.1 Models for Public Sector Reform ............................................................. 29 2.4.2 IS and e-government within the public sector........................................... 31 2.5 TRANSFORMATION TOWARDS E-GOVERNMENT .............................. 33 2.6 E-GOVERNMENT ADOPTION PROCESS ................................................. 35 2.7 CHAPTER SUMMARY ................................................................................. 36 CHAPTER 3 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND ........................................................ 37 3.1 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................... 37 3.2 THE IMPACT OF ORGANISATIONAL ISSUES IN THE ADOPTION OF IT AND E-GOVERNMENT .................................................................... 38 3.2.1 Organisational issues in relation to IS failure ........................................... 38 3.2.2 Classification of Organisational Issues in Information Systems .............. 42 3.2.4 Critique of Relevant Literature ................................................................. 44 3.3 THE AFFECT OF ORGANISATIONAL ISSUES ON THE ADOPTION OF TECHNOLOGY ....................................................................................... 45 - iv - Table of Contents 3.3.1 Organisational culture ............................................................................... 45 3.3.2 Attitude to Change .................................................................................... 48 3.3.3 Users’ Acceptance of Technology ............................................................ 50 3.3.4 E-commerce Adoption in Relation to Organisational Issues .................... 54 3.3.5 E-government Adoption in the Public Sector ........................................... 55 3.4 CHAPTER SUMMARY ................................................................................. 60 CHAPTER 4 THE KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA: CASE STUDY BACKGROUND ................................................................................................. 61 4.1 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................... 61 4.2 CHARACTERISTICS OF THE KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA ............. 62 4.2.1 Location, Size and Population .................................................................. 62 4.2.2 The Saudi Arabian Economy .................................................................... 64 4.2.3 The Culture of Saudi Arabia ..................................................................... 65 4.3 INFORMATION AN COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT) IN SAUDI ARABIA ............................................................................................ 67 4.3.1 ICT Infrastructure .................................................................................... 69 4.3.2 Computerisation in Saudi organisations ................................................... 70 4.3.3 The Internet in the KSA ............................................................................ 71 4.3.4 E-commerce in Saudi Arabia .................................................................... 72 4.4 E-GOVERNMENT INITIATIVE ................................................................... 73 4.5 SUMMARY AND CRITIQUE OF THE RELEVANT WORK .................... 76 CHAPTER 5 THE EXPLORATORY QUALITATIVE STUDY ................................. 78 5.1 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................... 78 5.2 RESEARCH PHILOSOPHY .......................................................................... 79 5.2.1 Chosen Research Philosophy .................................................................... 81 5.3 ADOPTION OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ............ 83 5.4 ADOPTION OF THE RESEARCH STRATEGY .......................................... 86 5.4.1 Justifying the Use of Case Study .............................................................. 87 5.4.2 Strengths and weaknesses of using a case study ....................................... 93 5.5 DATA COLLECTION METHOD ................................................................. 95 5.5.1 Interviews .................................................................................................. 95 5.5.2 Documentation ........................................................................................ 103 5.5.3 Sites visit ................................................................................................. 105 - v - Table of Contents 5.6 DATA REFERENCING ............................................................................... 106 5.7 ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS .................................................................. 107 5.8 DATA ANALYSIS ....................................................................................... 108 5.9 SUMMARY .................................................................................................. 111 CHAPTER 6 E-GOVERNMENT ADOPTION AT NATIONAL LEVEL ................ 112 6.1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................ 112 6.2 MOTIVATIONS FOR THE SAUDI GOVERNMENT TO ADOPT AN E-GOVERNMENT SYSTEM ...................................................................... 113 6.2.1 Economic Reasons .................................................................................. 114 6.2.2 Geographical Reasons ............................................................................. 115 6.2.3 Social and Cultural Aspects .................................................................... 116 6.2.4 Reforming the Public Sector ................................................................... 117 6.2.5 Technical Reasons ................................................................................... 118 6.2.6 Demographic Factors .............................................................................. 119 6.2.7 Political Reasons ..................................................................................... 119 6.2.8 Regional Comparisons ............................................................................ 121 6.2.9 Citizens’ Expectations ............................................................................. 121 6.2.10 Summary ................................................................................................. 122 6.3 FACTORS AFFECTING E-GOVERNMENT ADOPTION AT NATIONAL LEVEL .................................................................................. 122 6.3.1 Organisational Issues at National Level .................................................. 123 6.3.2 Technological Issues at National Level .................................................. 145 6.4 CHAPTER SUMMARY ............................................................................... 157 CHAPTER 7 ADOPTION OF E-GOVERNMENT AT AN AGENCY LEVEL ....... 159 7.1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................ 159 7.2 ORGANISATIONAL ISSUES AT AN AGENCY LEVEL ........................ 160 7.2.1 Top Management Support ....................................................................... 161 7.2.2 Organisational Structure ......................................................................... 163 7.2.3 Organisational Culture ............................................................................ 165 7.2.4 Strategy and Vision ................................................................................. 171 7.2.5 Reward System ....................................................................................... 172 7.2.6 Power Distribution .................................................................................. 174 7.2.7 Sharing Knowledge and Data ................................................................. 175 - vi - Table of Contents 7.2.8 Business Processes Reengineering (BPR) .............................................. 176 7.3 TECHNOLOGICAL ISSUES AT AGENCY LEVEL ................................. 178 7.3.1 IT infrastructure ...................................................................................... 178 7.3.2 IT Security ............................................................................................... 179 7.3.3 Compatibility .......................................................................................... 181 7.3.4 Technical expertise.................................................................................. 182 7.4 CHAPTER SUMMARY ............................................................................... 183 CHAPTER 8 A FRAMEWORK FOR THE ADOPTION OF E-GOVERNMENT ... 184 8.1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................ 184 8.2 E-GOVERNMENT ADOPTION MODEL .................................................. 186 8.3 KEY ISSUES INFLUENCING THE ADOPTION OF E-GOVERNMENT ....................................................................................... 187 8.3.1 Motivation to Change to an E-government System ................................ 188 8.3.2 Change Management ............................................................................... 192 8.4 KEY ISSUES AFFECT E-GOVERNMENT ADOPTION AT A NATIONAL LEVEL ................................................................................ 197 8.4.1 Organisational Issues at a National Level ............................................... 198 8.4.2 Technological Issues at a National Level................................................ 202 8.5 E-GOVERNMENT ADOPTION AT AN AGENCY LEVEL ..................... 206 8.5.1 Organisational Issues at Agency Level ................................................... 207 8.5.2 Technological Issues at an Agency Level ............................................... 214 8.6 UNDERSTANDING E-GOVERNMENT ADOPTION IN SAUDI ARABIA .......................................................................................... 218 8.7 SUCCESSFUL FACTORS LEARNED FROM THE CASE STUDY ........ 221 8.8 SUMMARY .................................................................................................. 224 CHAPTER 9 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ................................ 226 9.1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................ 226 9.2 AN OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY ............................................................. 227 9.3 RESEARCH OUTCOMES ........................................................................... 229 9.4 CONTRIBUTION OF THE RESEARCH TO KNOWLEDGE ................... 230 9.5 IMPLICATIONS OF THE STUDY ............................................................. 231 9.6 RESEARCH LIMITATIONS ....................................................................... 233 9.7 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH ............................ 233 - vii - Table of Contents 9.8 LEARNING EXPERIENCES ....................................................................... 234 9.9 CONCLUDING REMARKS ........................................................................ 235 REFERENCES .......................................................................................................... 237 APPENDIX 1: INTERVIEW GUIDE ...................................................................... 258 APPENDIX 2: LIST OF PUBLICATIONS ............................................................. 265 - viii - List of Figures LIST OF FIGURES Figure, 1.1: An overview of the thesis initial structure ................................................ 18 Figure 2.1: A Broad Definitional Schematic for e-government ................................... 18 Figure 2.2: E-government domains .............................................................................. 19 Figure 2.3: Dimensions and stages of e-government ................................................... 22 Figure 2.4: Reasons for the adoption of E-government ............................................... 25 Figure 2.5: The adoption process ................................................................................. 35 Figure 3.1: Classification of organisational issues ....................................................... 44 Figure 3.2: The determinants of organisational culture ............................................... 46 Figure 3.3: the Interaction Framework......................................................................... 50 Figure 3.4: Theory of Reasoned Action ....................................................................... 51 Figure 3.5: Original Technology Acceptance Model ................................................... 52 Figure 3.6: Factors Affecting Personal Computing Acceptance .................................. 53 Figure 3.7: Extension Model of the TAM .................................................................... 53 Figure 4.1: Location Reference of Saudi Arabia ......................................................... 63 Figure 4.2: Map of Saudi Arabia ................................................................................. 64 Figure 4.3: National ICT Scene Timeline in Saudi Arabia .......................................... 70 Figure 4.4: Number of users/subscribers. .................................................................... 72 Figure 4.5: Yesser Approach ....................................................................................... 74 Figure 4.6: E-government domains in the Saudi project.............................................. 74 Figure 5.1: The main Stakeholders for G 2 G. ............................................................. 86 Figure 5.2: Components of data analysis ................................................................... 110 Figure 6.1: Issues effect e-government adoption at notional level ............................ 113 Figure 6.2: Motivation for e-government adoption.................................................... 122 Figure 6.3: Organisational Issues Effect E-government Adoption at Notional Level .......................................................................................... 123 Figure 6.4: Yesser Hierarchy ..................................................................................... 129 Figure 6.5: Technological Issues at Notional Level ................................................. 146 Figure 7.1: Technological and Organisational Issues affect e-government at Agency Level ........................................................................................... 160 Figure 7.2: Organisational Issues affect e-government at Agency Level .................. 161 Figure 7.3: Technological Issues affect e-government at Agency Level ................. 178 - ix -

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