E-government in Kuwait : attitudes and perceptions

The aim of this study was to explore the attitudes and perceptions of citizens towards the adoption of e-government services in developing countries. This is deemed of value at a time when e-government initiatives are still emerging in many developing countries and many government departments and units have put a wide range of materials from publications and information about government services online for use by citizens. The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model was adopted in this study to identify factors that determine the adoption of e-government services. The use of a theoretical model allowed for formulating hypotheses governing the relationship between the different variables. Mixed research methods were utilised to fulfil the aims and objectives of this study. The quantitative and qualitative methods used included a questionnaire survey, which incorporated the amended version of the UTAUT model and which was completed by more than 800 students at Kuwait University, as well as usability testing, focus groups, interviews and open-ended questions. The study found that performance expectancy, effort expectancy, peer influence and facilitating conditions were direct determinants of usage intention and behaviour while Internet experience and type of academic course moderated the impact of the determinants on usage intention and behaviour. The results also showed that the general attitudes towards adopting e-government services were positive. The study identified a number of factors that positively influenced the attitude of respondents regarding the adoption of e-government services. These factors were related to reforming bureaucracy, usefulness, eliminating the importance of connections (wasta), facilitating government-public communication, reducing gender differences, and including all people in society. However, negative attitudes identified towards adopting e-government services related to fears and concerns about issues of technology, such as privacy and security. Other issues were related to lack of awareness, increasing unemployment rates, lack of faith in government, the belief that face-to-face interaction would add value to dealings with government, and most importantly, lack of capacity building. The evaluation of the Kuwait e-government website, as supplemental information, also identified a number of strengths and weaknesses that contributed to an increase or decrease in the potential adoption of e-government services. All adoption findings identified in this study were modelled through the use of a systemic approach which provided some insight into and understanding of the factors underlying the adoption of e-government services in developing countries. Based on the results and conclusions of the research, recommendations were made to officials responsible for the e-government project and ideas for further research were identified

Current state of e-services in Saudi Arabia: the case of intermediaries in facilitating government services in Madinah city

The government of Madinah has launched ‘Khdamatec’ electronic Offices (e-Offices) concept under their national electronic Government (e-Government) modernisation agenda to facilitate service delivery to citizens and seamless interaction to communicate their needs. By offering e-Offices around the government departments, Madinah government hopes to increase accessibility of e-Government services and make steps forward to electronic age, encourage Medina' citizens to participate and use e-Services and bridging digital divide. However, the empirical findings illustrate that the adoption and diffusion of the e-Office concept and e-Government in the wider context at a lethargic pace. This paper highlights some of the challenges faced by the Madinah city in implementing the e-Office concept and e-Government

Issues and challenges: cloud computing e-Government in developing countries

Cloud computing has become essential for IT resources that can be delivered as a service over the Internet. Many e-government services that are used worldwide provide communities with relatively complex applications and services. Governments are still facing many challenges in their implementation of e-government services in general, including Saudi Arabia, such as poor IT infrastructure, lack of finance, and insufficient data security. This research paper investigates the challenges of e-government cloud service models in developing countries. This paper finds that governments in developing countries are influenced by how the top management deals with the attention to the adoption of cloud computing. Further, organisational readiness levels of technologies, such as IT infrastructure, internet availability and social trust of the adoption of new technology as cloud computing, still present limitations for e-government cloud services adoption. Based on the findings of the critical review, this paper identifies the issues and challenges affecting the adoption of cloud computing in e- government such as IT infrastructure, internet availability, and trust adopted new technologies thereby highlighting benefits of cloud computing-based e-government services. Furthermore, we propose recommendations for developing IT systems focused on trust when adopting cloud computing in e-government services (CCEGov)

Incentives for the adoption of e-government by Greek municipalities

Purpose: The research aims to identify the incentives that play an important role in the evolution of e-government in Greece at local scale and its actual development level. It also investigates the factors and the perceived barriers that affect the development of local egovernment in Greek Municipalities, as well as the benefits they derive from it. Design/Methodology/Approach: The research is based on a survey that was conducted through a questionnaire to all 325 Municipalities of the country and includes data from 109 Municipalities that participated in the quantitative approach. Findings: While e-government is spread at a relatively satisfactory level, it appears that only a few Municipalities are performing well. Results highlight also the two main incentives that motivate Municipalities to adopt e-government: The first is the improvement of the efficiency of information exchange with the external environment and the second is managing internal issues-relationships in conjunction with the existence of prominent IT departments. Amongst the main factors that affect e-government adoption by Local authorities, budgetary constraints stand out, while the lack of personnel specialized in Information Technologies is identified as common obstacle. Practical Implications: Findings suggest that an integrated approach to e-government is needed in order to enable organizations to minimize failures and to overcome barriers and counter risks. The capacity to align e-government applications with the increasing and evolving needs and requirements of the citizens is the key to optimizing the benefits of eGovernment at local scale. Originality/Value: There is no similar empirical research in the context of Greece; hence, it seems important to increase the knowledge about the drivers of e-government adoption, especially in the public sector at the local scale.peer-reviewe

The role of trust in e-government adoption: A systematic literature review

Electronic government (e-government) is a concept that has been adopted in most countries for the purposes of providing government services digitally, improving transparency between government and citizens and enabling additional communication channels with the government. Although e-government readiness in most countries is at a high level, adoption of e-government services is still considered tentative. A critical review of the literature suggests that this may be linked to citizens’ trust in government and e-government. As such, there is a need to investigate the role of trust in e-government adoption. For this purpose, a systematic literature review was conducted in order to observe research design, methodologies and approaches adopted in these studies as well as limitations identified and recommendation for future studies. The findings highlight that quantitative techniques and survey research methods appear to have been much preferred over other available alternatives such as qualitative techniques and interview methods or mixed methods in studies relating to trust in e-government adoption

The e-government implementation directions in Oman: A preliminay investigation

Electronic government has established itself as the primary enabler for transforming the way government services are offered to citizens. In the gulf countries, public sector transformation efforts are focused towards increasing accessibility, availability, competitive advances and enhancing services in civil administration. The Sultanate of Oman is one such example of the Gulf countries where large investments have been made since 2003 to implement electronic services in the public sector. Using a qualitative research approach, this research investigates the improvements that have been made to facilitate these electronic services in three public organisations, and their resulting impact within the organisations. The empirical results reveal that among others, top management support, integration and IT staff skills and capabilities are the most important factors that facilitate e-government initiatives in the Omani public sector

Alter ego, state of the art on user profiling: an overview of the most relevant organisational and behavioural aspects regarding User Profiling.

This report gives an overview of the most relevant organisational and\ud behavioural aspects regarding user profiling. It discusses not only the\ud most important aims of user profiling from both an organisation’s as\ud well as a user’s perspective, it will also discuss organisational motives\ud and barriers for user profiling and the most important conditions for\ud the success of user profiling. Finally recommendations are made and\ud suggestions for further research are given

A National Dialogue on Health Information Technology and Privacy

Increasingly, government leaders recognize that solving the complex problems facing America today will require more than simply keeping citizens informed. Meeting challenges like rising health care costs, climate change and energy independence requires increased level of collaboration. Traditionally, government agencies have operated in silos -- separated not only from citizens, but from each other, as well. Nevertheless, some have begun to reach across and outside of government to access the collective brainpower of organizations, stakeholders and individuals.The National Dialogue on Health Information Technology and Privacy was one such initiative. It was conceived by leaders in government who sought to demonstrate that it is not only possible, but beneficial and economical, to engage openly and broadly on an issue that is both national in scope and deeply relevant to the everyday lives of citizens. The results of this first-of-its-kind online event are captured in this report, together with important lessons learned along the way.This report served as a call to action. On his first full day in office, President Obama put government on notice that this new, more collaborative model can no longer be confined to the efforts of early adopters. He called upon every executive department and agency to "harness new technology" and make government "transparent, participatory, and collaborative." Government is quickly transitioning to a new generation of managers and leaders, for whom online collaboration is not a new frontier but a fact of everyday life. We owe it to them -- and the citizens we serve -- to recognize and embrace the myriad tools available to fulfill the promise of good government in the 21st Century.Key FindingsThe Panel recommended that the Administration give stakeholders the opportunity to further participate in the discussion of heath IT and privacy through broader outreach and by helping the public to understand the value of a person-centered view of healthcare information technology