FACTORS IMPACTING THE ADOPTION IN SAUDI ARABIA OF E-GOVERNMENT, INVESTIGATED WITH THE USE OF FUZZY SET QUALITATIVE COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS AND PLS PATH MODELLING
Abstract
The rate of citizens’ adoption of e-government (e-gov) is one of the prime indicators of the successful implementation of an e-gov system. An in-depth review of the existing e-gov adoption literature revealed that few studies had investigated e-gov generally in less advanced nations, especially in the context of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). This study therefore aims to conduct an investigation into the adoption of e-gov and the factors that impact it from the citizens’ perspective. An adoption model that integrates the Technology Acceptance model (TAM), Diffusion of Innovation Theory (DOI), the Trust model, and the cultural dimension (Uncertainty Avoidance) were proposed and validated. The study is conducted deductively and the model was quantitatively validated by surveying 630 citizens of KSA. The data was analysed by employing two statistical packages, Warp Partial Least Square “WarpPLS” and Fuzzy Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis “fsQCA”. The findings of the study were that trust toward technology, trust toward government, relative advantages and perception of ease of use are significant antecedents of citizens’ trust toward relation to e-gov webpages. Furthermore, trust toward e-gov webpages, social influences, relative advantages, compatibility and complexity significantly affect citizens’ intentions to adopt e-gov. Interestingly, the findings of fsQCA, revealed no single variable strengthened citizens’ intention, but that a combination of variables did so. The study presents three configurations are that were shared by 82%, 74% and 18% of citizens respectively. The findings of this research contribute theoretically by developing an e-gov adoption model that investigates factors from TAM, DOI, and Trust, with culture as a moderator. They also contribute methodologically by utilising fsQCA to investigate the combined influence and the interdependent relationships between those factors and to provide different configurations of the factors given. The study also proposes practical managerial suggestions that could be considered as a guide to e-gov enhancement and promotion in KSA. Lastly, the limitations and the direction of further research are indicated.