Factors affecting e-government adoption in Bahrain

Abstract

Abstract : Electronic government (e-government) was lunched as an online technique to enhance the government productivity and to provide citizens with more accurate, time saving, high quality services. Although e-government has improved the way of communication and treatment of government services for citizens, the adoption of e-government has been less than satisfactory in most countries. The aim of this paper is to investigate main factors affecting the adoption of e-government in the Kingdom of Bahrain by gathering empirical evidence based on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and the Use of Technology (UTAUT). 186 citizens were surveyed using the amended version of the UTAUT model and a regression analysis was implemented to test the factors affecting the adoption of e-government. The study data reveal four independent variables (Performance expectancy, Effort expectancy, Peer review, and Facilitating conditions) that determine citizens' use of e-government services. A regression analysis was conducted to examine the influence of the factors. Reliability test reported values of the various constructs vary between (0.74) and (0.91). The findings reveal that effort expectancy and facilitating conditions strongly determine citizens' intention towards e-government. Additionally, performance expectancy was found to determine citizens' use of e-government services with moderate significance. Recommendations for practice and research are discussed. Key words: E-government, Adoption, UTAUT, Bahrain.