A conceptual model for the development of broadband and e-government

The paper discusses the interconnection of the adoption and diffusion of broadband (‘BB’), e-government (‘EG’) and e-commerce (‘EC’) services. It provides a structured literature review and proposes a conceptual framework for studying the interconnection of the development and adoption of BB, EG and EC. The interconnections of various concepts are shown along with several hypotheses that are thoroughly theoretically grounded. The role of different technology acceptance models is discussed, while the importance of including various aspects in policy preparation analyses is emphasized.     

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

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.     

COBRA framework to evaluate e-government services: A citizen-centric perspective

E-government services involve many stakeholders who have different objectives that can have an impact on success. Among these stakeholders, citizens are the primary stakeholders of government activities. Accordingly, their satisfaction plays an important role in e-government success. Although several models have been proposed to assess the success of e-government services through measuring users' satisfaction levels, they fail to provide a comprehensive evaluation model. This study provides an insight and critical analysis of the extant literature to identify the most critical factors and their manifested variables for user satisfaction in the provision of e-government services. The various manifested variables are then grouped into a new quantitative analysis framework consisting of four main constructs: cost; benefit; risk and opportunity (COBRA) by analogy to the well-known SWOT qualitative analysis framework. The COBRA measurement scale is developed, tested, refined and validated on a sample group of e-government service users in Turkey. A structured equation model is used to establish relationships among the identified constructs, associated variables and users' satisfaction. The results confirm that COBRA framework is a useful approach for evaluating the success of e-government services from citizens' perspective and it can be generalised to other perspectives and measurement contexts.     

User acceptance of SMS-based e-government services: Differences between adopters and non-adopters

Delivering public services through the SMS channel is popular in developed and developing countries, and it has demonstrated its benefits. However, citizens' acceptance of the services is still an issue. This paper presents a study on user acceptance of SMS-based e-government services. Constructs of the proposed model were derived from a survey on citizens' motivations for using SMS-based e-government services (142 respondents from 25 countries), prominent theories on individual acceptance of technologies, and current studies on user acceptance of SMS and e-government services. The model was validated using data from 589 citizens in three cities in Indonesia, who are non-adopters. The relationships between the factors then were compared with data from 80 adopters of SMS-based e-government services in Australia. The proposed model explains what factors influence non-adopters to accept SMS-based e-government services, and the comparison explains the relative importance of the factors for the adopters. The findings are promising for governments who wish to evaluate a new SMS-based e-government system very early in its development in order to assess potential acceptability and for governments who would like to diagnose the reasons why an existing SMS-based e-government service is not fully acceptable to citizens and to take corrective action to increase the acceptability of the service.     

User acceptance of mobile e-government services: An empirical study

The traditional focus of e-government services research has been on non-mobile services but now with the incorporation of mobile services more people are able to access these Mobile e-government services (m-government services). In addition, such services are critical for improving user-to-government communication effectiveness and maintaining relationships. The purpose of this study is to identify the factors that determine user acceptance of these services. Based primarily on the theory of planned behavior and supplemented by the mobile communication perspective, a sample of 331 users of m-government services in Taiwan was tested. The findings show that perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, trust, interactivity, external influence, interpersonal influence, self efficacy, and facilitating conditions are critical factors. This study has given us a better understanding of critical mobile communication factors in improving user acceptance of m-government services. Implications and recommendations for research and practice are also presented and discussed.     

From one-stop shop to no-stop shop: An e-government stage model

This paper responds to two observations about current government service delivery. First, despite reasonable efforts to improve the design of forms and to establish single points of contact in one-stop shops, citizens still perceive forms as cumbersome. Second, citizens expect governments to act proactively by initiating appropriate government services themselves, instead of relying on requests for services from citizens. To address these two issues, this paper proposes a transition from a one-stop shop to a no-stop shop, where the citizen does not have to perform any action or fill in any forms to receive government services. The contribution of this paper is an e-government stage model that extends existing models. Stage models are suitable tools with which to inspire future developments, and ours extends previous models that guide progress toward the one-stop shop by describing two further stages: the limited no-stop shop and the no-stop shop. We define three dimensions along which to progress: integration of data collection, integration of data storage, and purpose of data use. We provide a first test of the model's validity through three case studies: the e-government practices in Austria, Estonia, and an Australian state government. Our work complements existing research on e-government stage models and proactive government service delivery.     

A structured analysis of e-government studies: Trends and opportunities

E-government involves the use of information and communications technology to facilitate government interaction with citizens, employees, businesses and other governments. E-government studies provide a platform to examine prior developments, and explore future opportunities in the field. This paper presents a theoretical model for the analysis of e-government studies and further uses a bibliometric analysis to examine constructs such as theoretical perspectives, methods, and units of analyses. We examine current trends in e-government research, and discuss emerging opportunities.     

Fifteen years of e-government research in Ibero-America: A bibliometric analysis

In this article it is presented a bibliometric analysis of e-government research in the Ibero-American (IA) Community. Data from the Scopus® database relating to 1129 research documents published between 2003 and 2017 was used. Presented analyzes include the most productive and impacting researchers, institutions and countries; determinants for country results; most relevant subject areas and specific research themes; and international cooperation patterns, namely within the IA Community. Contrary to what happens worldwide, e-government research production is still rising in IA. Besides the general heterogeneity, there are four relatively homogenous groups of countries to what concerns production and impact: leading, evolving, emerging, and expectant countries. IA has distinctive characteristics that make it interesting as an object of study and that constitute an opportunity for further development. Nevertheless, for results to continue to evolve, it is relevant that public policies related to e-government development and the promotion of research continue to be developed and that cooperation among IA researchers is properly promoted and supported.     

Enhancing the case for Electronic Government in developing nations: A people-centric study focused in Saudi Arabia

The pace of implementing Electronic Government (E-Gov) is rapidly increasing. However, despite high levels of investment, a broad range of applications, and various methods of access relatively low levels of various methods of access, relatively low levels of usage (and even familiarity with e-gov) are still common. For example, in Canada, long recognized as a leader in implementing e-gov, less than 27% of Canadians used E-Gov during the past 12 months and 81% of c non-users report a low level of familiarity with either federal or provincial governmental services available through e-gov (Canada, 2004). Or, consider the showcase e-gov Gyandoot project in the Dhar district in central India, whose population is estimated at 1.7 million. Even after implementing e-gov in a showcase project for the rural poor, a study by the Center for Electronic Governance, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad concluded that this model of “government to citizen” service delivery has serious sustenance problems (World Bank, 2004). The research reported in this paper takes a step back and focuses on the acceptability of e-gov by individuals. It is a people-centric approach to determine the overall acceptability of e-gov to people in a developing country, Saudi Arabia. Although this research may be generalizable to other situations, the primary intention of this project is to shed light on how to approach and manage implementation projects in developing nations.     

The e-government research domain: A triple helix network analysis of collaboration at the regional,country, and institutional levels

This study introduces a hybrid approach (i.e., a social network analysis technique and triple helix indicators) to study certain aspects of the e-government (EG) domain that would otherwise remain hidden when using conventional analytic tools. Particularly, we provide network analysis of the EG research domain by focusing on the network collaboration between regions, nations and institutions. We collected and analyzed 1091 scholarly papers which were classified as being about “e-government” by the Web of Science database. The results indicate that hybrid method can be used to understand certain network-level structures and patterns in the EG domain which are beyond the scope of the predominantly-used systematic literature review (SLR) method. Particularly, the hybrid method is useful in understanding collaboration patterns between countries, institutions and regions in the EG domain, identifying key players by studying their network properties (i.e., degree centralities); and in understanding the pattern of relations among universities, industries, and government. The implications of these results in terms of research and practice, and study limitations are discussed.     

Beyond Section 508: The spectrum of legal requirements for accessible e-government Web sites in the United States

In the United States, a number of federal laws establish requirements that electronic government (e-government) information and services be accessible to individuals with disabilities. These laws affect e-government Web sites at the federal, state, and local levels. To this point, research about the accessibility of e-government Web sites has tended to focus on compliance with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. Though Section 508 has the most specific guidelines regarding Web site accessibility, it is hardly the only law establishing accessibility requirements for e-government Web sites, and Section 508 does not apply to many sites that may be required to be accessible by other laws. Until assessment of the accessibility of e-government Web sites accounts for all of the relevant laws, the understanding of levels of accessibility and compliance will be incomplete. This article examines the entire spectrum of federal laws that create legal requirements for accessible e-government Web sites, analyzing the accessibility requirements that the laws establish and the ways in which each of the laws applies to an e-government Web site. This article also suggests research areas that should be included in future assessments to address the entire range of laws related to the accessibility of e-government Web sites. The issues raised in this article have significant relevance to the design and development of e-government, to the assessment of e-government information and services, and to the inclusion in e-government of the 54 million individuals in the United States with disabilities.     

Opportunities and threats: A security assessment of state e-government websites

This study assessed the security of the U.S. state e-government sites to identify opportunities for and threats to the sites and their users. The study used a combination of three methods – web content analysis, information security auditing, and computer network security mapping – for data collection and analysis. The findings indicate that most state e-government sites posted privacy and security policy statements; however, only less than half stated clearly what security measures were in action. Second, the information security audit revealed that 98% of the sites secured users' accounts with SSL encryption for data transmission, and the sites' search tools enable public users to search for public information only. Third, although the sites had most of their internet ports filtered or behind firewalls, all of them had their main IP addresses detected and their port 80/tcp open. The study discussed the threats and opportunities and suggested possible solutions for improving e-government security.     

User centric cloud service model in public sectors: Policy implications of cloud services

This study examines the acceptance of cloud computing services in government agencies by focusing on the key characteristics that affect behavioral intent. The study expanded upon the technology acceptance model by incorporating contextual factors such as availability, access, security, and reliability. The research model was empirically verified by investigating the perception of users working in public institutions. Modeling results showed that user intentions and behaviors were largely influenced by the perceived features of cloud services. Also these features were found to be the significant antecedents of cloud computing usefulness and ease of use. The findings should guide governments' promotion of cloud public services to increase user awareness by enhancing usability and appeal and ensuring security.     

A hierarchical model of e-government service capability: An empirical analysis

Enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of e-government services at affordable costs continues to be an interesting discussion. Given the lack of guidelines on the effective management of such services, we propose a hierarchical model of e-gov service capabilities and develop theoretical links. We used confirmatory factor analysis to investigate observed data from 102 cities in 26 provinces in Mainland China. Furthermore, we adopted path analysis to explore the potential relationships among the effects caused by the processes involved in delivering e-gov services. Our results may serve as practical contributions to the management and improvement of e-gov service capabilities.     

e-Voting intent: A comparison of young and elderly voters

The ability to vote online has the potential to increase voter turnout for elections due to increased convenience over traditional voting polls. This study examines factors that can affect a citizen's intent to vote online. Survey subjects came from two different age groups: young adults, 18–25 years of age; and senior citizens, ages 60 plus. Using the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), the study found that performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, trust in the internet, and computer anxiety were significantly related to intent to use online voting. Trust in the government was insignificant. Performance expectancy, social influence, and computer anxiety were related to intent to vote online for both young adults and seniors. Effort expectancy was related to intent to vote for the seniors but not young adults, and trust in the internet was related to intent to vote for young adults but not seniors.     

Continuous usage of e-participation: The role of the sense of virtual community

Local governments around the world are increasingly implementing e-participation platforms to involve citizens in consultation and decision-making processes. E-participation platforms usually succeed and produce positive effects in the community when adopted in the long-term scenario. The adoption of those platforms is still a challenge for local governments. The understanding of the factors that influence the continuous intention to use e-participation over time is critical for the design of diffusion and promotion strategies that motivate the citizens to keep using e-participation. This article explores the drivers that predict the post-adoption of e-participation platforms from the perspective of the sense of virtual community theory, that is the degree of affective attachment to a given community mediated by information technology. Specifically, our research model evaluates the association between the sense of virtual community with use behaviour and the continuous intention to use e-participation. Structural equation modelling was used to evaluate the data collected from 370 citizens who experienced an e-participation platform hosted by a European capital city. We found out that the direct association between the sense of virtual community and use was significant. Even though the direct association between the sense of virtual community and the continuous intention was non-significant, the indirect association sense of virtual community to use to continuous intention was statistically significant. This finding may indicate that the use behaviour is triggered by the influence of other members of the community for a short period of time, but it does not persist to influence the continuous intention over time.     

电子政务采纳研究述评:基于公民视角

本文从概念界定、研究数量分布、理论/模型使用、研究方法及内容等方面对当前电子政务公民采纳研究进行综述。认为:目前我国在这方面的研究仍然比较匮乏,需要展开进一步的研究;多数研究以经典IT/IS理论/模型为基点,加入其他核心变量以对原有模型进行细化、扩展、整合等;研究内容主要是个体、技术、环境及质量等特征因素对公民采纳的影响研究;未来应当不断发掘出不同公民群体采纳电子政务的各种潜在影响因素,构建符合电子政务特定情境的实证研究模型;尽可能选择最合适的样本,并在不同情境下进行实证检验,同时扩大样本量,提高研究的普适性。图4。参考文献34。     

A path-dependence perspective on the adoption of Internet of Things: Evidence from early adopters of smart and connected sensors in the United States

As an integral part of the Internet of Things (IoT), smart and connected sensors are emerging information and communication technologies that collect and transmit real-time data from various urban domains to inform decision-making. While smart sensors and IoT technologies have great potential to transform public service provision, their adoption in the public sector seems to be slow and incremental. Using cross-sectional data of 65 large and mid-sized cities in the United States, we examine what affects local governments' adoption of smart and connected sensors. We propose a path-dependence explanation for the incremental adoption and test if a local government's sensor adoption behavior is shaped by its existing policy priorities and managerial practices in related fields. Our results show that local governments' early adoption of smart sensors is likely to stem from their needs in specific policy domains. We also find that a local government's historical paths on urban sustainability and data-driven decision-making practices can predict its trajectory of sensor deployment, in terms of the scope and the integration of smart sensors across different urban domains. Surprisingly, a local government's e-government progressiveness is not a significant predictor. Our results confirm the incremental change in smart sensor adoption and provide implications for local governments' IoT planning.