Barriers and benefits in the adoption of e‐government

TLDR

The study examines why individuals prefer electronic self‑service government delivery over traditional methods, investigating decision‑making factors for online e‑government use. The authors used attitudinal technology adoption models combined with service quality concepts, collecting data through a questionnaire. Trust, financial security, and information quality were identified as barriers, while time and money savings were benefits that predict willingness to use online e‑government services; thus, building trust, ensuring secure finances, providing accurate information, and saving users time and money can increase adoption.

Abstract

This article examines the reasons individuals would choose electronic self‐service delivery methods over more traditional methods of service delivery for government services. The study investigated the factors related to decision making when people consider and evaluate the usage of an online e‐government delivery mechanism. The approach taken was based on a combination of attitudinal technology adoption models and the service quality concept, with data gathered via a questionnaire. Trust, financial security, information quality (all adoption barriers), time and money (both adoption benefits) were found to predict potential usage. That is willingness to use the online delivery option will be present if organisations can develop trust relationships with individuals, assure them that their financial details are secure, provide information that is relevant, accurate and up‐to‐date, and save individuals time and money. The results are significant to the public service manager who needs to consider both the barriers to adoption and the benefits of adoption if they are to develop plans to increase the take‐up of their electronic services.