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The Effects of Website Quality on Adoption of E-Government Service: AnEmpirical Study Applying UTAUT Model Using SEM
Mohammed Alshehri, Steve Drew, Thamer Alhussain, Rayed Alghamdi
TL;DR
The paper addresses limited progress in Saudi e-government by examining whether website quality contributes to citizens’ adoption of online government services. It extends UTAUT, surveys Saudi citizens, and analyzes the data with SEM. Performance expectancy, effort expectancy, facilitating conditions, and website quality significantly influenced usage behaviour, whereas social influence did not.
Problem
Limited progress in Saudi government online services motivates examination of website quality and its relationship with citizen adoption.
Method
The study extends UTAUT with website quality, uses a quantitative questionnaire of Saudi citizens, and analyzes the model with structural equation modelling.
Results
Performance expectancy, effort expectancy, facilitating conditions, and website quality significantly influenced usage behaviour, while social influence did not.
Takeaways & Limitations
The findings identify website quality and support conditions as influential factors in Saudi citizens’ adoption of e-government services.
Takeaways & Limitations
The study investigates the main hypotheses but does not focus on moderator effects.
Abstract
from arXiv · showhide
In today global age, e-government services have become the main channel for online communication between the government and its citizens. They aim to provide citizens with more accessible, accurate, real-time and high quality services. Therefore, the quality of government websites which provide e-services is an essential factor in the successful adoption of e-government services by the public. This paper discusses an investigation of the effect of the Website Quality (WQ) factor on the acceptance of using e-government services (G2C) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) by adopting the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) Model. Survey Data collected from 400 respondents were examined using the structural equation modelling (SEM) technique and utilising AMOS tools. This study found that the factors that significantly influenced the Use Behaviour of e-government services in KSA (USE) include Performance Expectancy (PE), Effort expectancy (EE), Facilitating Conditions (FC) and Website Quality (WQ), while the construct known Social Influence (SI) did not. Moreover, the results confirm the importance of quality government websites and support systems as one of the main significant and influential factors of e-government services adoption. The results of this study can be helpful to Saudi governmental sectors to adjust their corporate strategies and plans to advance successful adoption and diffusion of e-government services (G2C) in KSA.
INTRODUCTION
E-government services are intended to make government information and services more accessible, convenient, secure, and efficient. In Saudi Arabia, limited implementation and uneven online-service progress motivate this study’s focus on website quality and citizen adoption.
- E-government services aim to improve service quality, accessibility, convenience, security, and administrative time efficiency.
- Saudi Arabia’s government online services had not progressed at the same pace as its rapidly growing ICT marketplace.Eight of 21 ministries had not implemented the main e-government website features, while six had no online service.
- The study examines citizens’ perceptions of e-government website quality and tests its role in service adoption using an expanded UTAUT model.
- Prior research describes e-government as technology-enabled delivery of government information and services to citizens and other stakeholders.
- Website quality literature treats technical, content, system, information, security, ease-of-use, and service features as dimensions related to users’ evaluations and satisfaction.
TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION MODELS
Technology-acceptance models explain factors influencing technology use, and this study adopts UTAUT because it integrates constructs from eight earlier models. UTAUT specifies performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, and facilitating conditions as determinants of usage intention and behaviour.
- Technology acceptance concerns an individual’s psychological state regarding voluntary or intended use of a technology.
- The study selects UTAUT to investigate e-government adoption in Saudi Arabia, where services were still in early development stages.The passage reports that UTAUT accounted for 70 percent of variance in usage intention or behaviour in its empirical validation.
- UTAUT integrates key elements from TRA, TPB, TAM, MPCU, MM, SCT, TAM2, and DOI into a unified acceptance model.
- The four core UTAUT constructs are performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, and facilitating conditions.
RESEARCH METHOD
The research model extends UTAUT to study actual Saudi e-government use by adding website quality and modifying the moderator structure. The study uses questionnaire-based constructs and SEM, while excluding moderator effects from its main hypotheses.
- Research Model and Hypotheses: The proposed model examines website quality’s effect on actual Saudi e-government usage from citizens’ perspectives.
- Research Model and Hypotheses: Internet experience replaces the original experienced-use moderator, and website quality is added as an independent variable moderated by gender, age, and Internet experience.
- Research Model and Hypotheses: Website quality is operationalized through technical quality, content quality, appearance, accessibility, availability, design, functionality, security, and information characteristics.
- Research Model and Hypotheses: Usage behaviour is used to measure actual service use because the sample targets Saudi citizens who require or need e-government services.
- Research Model and Hypotheses: The study investigates main hypotheses but does not focus on the effects of moderators.
Data Collection
The study collects quantitative data with a questionnaire whose UTAUT and website-quality items are adapted from prior instruments.
- A quantitative questionnaire measures five constructs with multiple items, adapting UTAUT items from Venkatesh et al. and website-quality items from Aladwani.
Data Analysis
The study analyzed its data with SEM and AMOS to evaluate relationships among model constructs. It used a two-step process assessing measurement quality before testing the structural model and hypotheses.
- SEM with AMOS was used to evaluate relationships among the model constructs.The technique was applied to model complex relationships among multiple independent and dependent constructs.
- The analysis first assessed the measurement model for reliability and validity.This step followed the two-step approach recommended by Anderson and Gerbing.
- The structural model was then assessed to test the research hypotheses and model suitability.
Sample Profile
The supplied section materials describe respondent demographics and the study’s measurement and structural-model evaluations. Discriminant validity was confirmed, and the structural model showed good fit with four of five hypotheses supported.
- Sample Profile: Respondents were profiled by gender, age, and education level.
- Evaluation of the Measurement Model: The measurement model used CFA to assess convergent and discriminant validity.Convergent validity used factor loading, construct reliability, and average variance extracted indicators.
- Evaluation of the Measurement Model: The square root of AVE exceeded correlations with other factors for every construct, confirming sufficient discriminant validity.
- Evaluation of the Structural Model: χ2/df = 1.775 and RMSEA = 0.071 indicated good overall structural-model fit, with four of five hypotheses supported.PE, EE, FC, and WQ predicted USE, whereas SI did not significantly predict usage behaviour (-0.03, n.s.).
DISCUSSION OF THE FINDINGS
The UTAUT findings show that performance expectancy, effort expectancy, facilitating conditions, and website quality significantly support e-government usage behaviour, whereas social influence does not. Website quality was the strongest reported relationship in the model.
- Performance Expectancy: Performance expectancy significantly and strongly predicted e-government usage behaviour, reflecting perceived benefits such as saving time and money.It was defined as users’ belief that e-government facilitates communication, improves service quality, and increases equity.
- Effort Expectancy: Effort expectancy had a significant positive relationship with usage behaviour, indicating that perceived ease of learning and using the system supported adoption.The construct covered learning, using, and becoming skilful at using e-government services.
- Social Influence: Social influence had an insignificant impact on usage behaviour, leaving the corresponding hypothesis unsupported.The discussion characterizes e-government use as a personal issue rather than one affected by others’ opinions or advice.
- Facilitating Conditions: Facilitating conditions had a direct and significant effect on usage behaviour through available resources, knowledge, and technical support.The construct refers to technological and organizational resources supporting use of the e-government system.
- Website Quality: Website quality had a positive and significant effect on usage behaviour and the greatest standardized regression-weight relationship in the proposed UTAUT model.Website quality included technical, content, appearance, accessibility, and availability dimensions.
CONCLUSION
The study investigated e-government acceptance in Saudi Arabia, emphasizing website quality within the UTAUT model. It reports significant contributions from performance expectancy, effort expectancy, facilitating conditions, and website quality, but not social influence.
- Purpose: The study examined factors affecting acceptance and use of Saudi Arabian e-government services, especially the role of website quality.The stated purpose focused on website quality as an important factor in adoption.
- Website Quality: Website quality dimensions identified as important included content quality, appearance quality, accessibility, ease of use, and good website design.
- Main Findings: Effort expectancy, performance expectancy, facilitating conditions, and website quality significantly contributed to citizen adoption and directly affected usage behaviour.
- Main Findings: Social influence had an insignificant influence on Saudi citizens’ usage behaviour for e-government services.
MEASUREMENT SCALE AND ITEMS
The measurement scale operationalized UTAUT constructs and website quality through survey items covering performance, effort, social influence, facilitating conditions, and website quality.
- Performance Expectancy: Performance expectancy items measured faster and more efficient public-sector needs, increased equity, time savings, and improved service quality.
- Effort Expectancy: Effort expectancy items assessed whether learning, using, and becoming skilful with the e-government system were easy.
- Social Influence: Social influence items assessed perceived expectations from important people, influential others, friends, colleagues, and government sectors.
- Facilitating Conditions: Facilitating-condition items measured access to necessary resources, knowledge, and technical assistance for e-government use.
- Website Quality: The website-quality scale included users’ perceptions that government websites appeared safe and secure for transactions.
COPYRIGHT
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- Usage Rights: ACIS and educational and non-profit institutions receive a non-exclusive licence for personal use and courses of instruction.
- Usage Conditions: Use in courses requires that the article remain complete and that the copyright statement be reproduced.
- Publication Rights: The authors also grant ACIS a non-exclusive licence to publish the complete document in conference papers and proceedings.