Factors Influencing Citizens' Intention to Use E

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Isaac Kofi Mensah, School of Managemen, Harbin Institute Technology, Harbin, China ... government agencies of information technologies such as Wide Areas ...
International Journal of Electronic Government Research Volume 13 • Issue 1 • January-March 2017

Factors Influencing Citizens’ Intention to Use E-Government Services:

A Case Study of South Korean Students in China Isaac Kofi Mensah, School of Managemen, Harbin Institute Technology, Harbin, China Mi Jianing, School of Managemen, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, China Dilawar Khan Durrani, School of Managemen, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, China

ABSTRACT The purpose of this research paper is to investigate the determinates of Korean students in China to use e-government services. A total of 400 structured research questionnaire instruments was designed and administered to potential respondents of which 93.75% responded. The Technology Acceptance Mode (TAM) was used as a theoretical framework for this study. The data gathered was analyzed with SPSS version 20. The results show that all the predictors (Perceived Usefulness, Perceived Ease of Use, Perceived Service Quality, and Citizen Trust) investigated are significant positive determiners of Korean students’ intention to adopt and use e-government services. The results further indicated that Citizen Trust positively and significantly moderated the positive relationship between perceived ease of use, perceived service quality and intention to use e-government services but failed to show any positive moderation effect on perceived usefulness and intention to use e-government services. The implications of these findings are further discussed. Keywords China, Citizens’ Intention, E-Government, E-Government Services, South Korean Students, Technology Acceptance Model (TAM)

INTRODUCTION E-governance is the capacity of government to harness the potentials of information and communication technologies at the various sections of government through its public-sector agencies for purpose of encouraging and deepening good governance (Amoretti, & Musella, 2009). It is also considered as the process of enhancing interaction between citizens, consumers, public administration, the private sector and government (Jauhiainen, & Inkinen,2009). Electronic governance has also been defined as the application of information and communication technologies (ICTs) for delivering government public services through the integration of various stand-alone systems between Government-toCitizens (G2C), Government-to-Business (G2B) and Government-to-Government (G2G) services (Dasgupta,2013). According to Vat (2010), electronic governance is the use of emerging information and communication technology (ICT) to facilitate the processes of government businesses and public administration to provided citizens with the ability to decide in which manner they prefer to interact with government through its many public sector agencies. An electronic government which is considered as a subsection of e-governance is defined by the Word Bank (2017) as the use by government agencies of information technologies such as Wide Areas Networks, the internet and mobile computing that have the potential to transform relations with citizens, businesses and other

DOI: 10.4018/IJEGR.2017010102 Copyright © 2017, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited.

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arms of government. According to the World Bank, these technologies can offer better delivery of government services to citizens, improved interaction with businesses and industry, empower citizens through the provision of timely information and efficient government management (World Bank, 2017). The ultimate benefits arising from government adoption of e-government could lead to cost reduction, promote economic development, enhance transparency and accountability, improve service delivery, and improve public administration and facilitating the creation of an e-society (World Bank, 2017). The adoption and implementation of e-government to modernize the administration process of government to improve public service delivery and its subsequent usage by citizens are two different issues which need consideration. The use of ICTs could improve public administration but the adoption of e-government systems by end users has remained low, thus the adoption and use of e-government services by end users is a major barrier to successful e-government implementation (Rania and Benoit, 2015). A very critical issue for the success of e-government is citizen’s readiness to use e-government services (Ozakan & Kanat, 2011; Liu et al., 2014). In the study of (Kolsaker & Lee-Kelley, 2008), there is a generally low interest of citizens’ attitude toward e-government usage. This low interest in e-government usage collaborates in findings of (Al-Soud et al., 2014.) which found that citizens’ interest in e-government services is declining. (E-government services could not be seen to have improved public service delivery if the citizenry that it was meant for do not use it (Panagiotopoulos & Al-Debei, 2010). E-government is the online supply of government information and services through the internet (Jinmei, 2011). The purpose of e-government is to restructure the management and organization of public services delivery (Santos et al, 2013). E-government covers key functions of government such as E-services which is the electronic delivery of government information, programs and services over the internet, E-democracy- the use of electronic communications to increase citizen participation in the public decision-making process, E-commerce – the electronic trading of money for goods and services like the payment of taxes and utility bills, renewing vehicle registrations and E-management- which is the use of ICT to improve the management of government business or operations (Mnjama & Wamukoya, 2007). E-government does not only have the potential to provide faster access to government information and public services but lower administrative costs, increase transparency in government ministries, department, and agencies, as well as reduce the menace of bribery and corruption (Asogwa, 2013). The willingness of citizens to use e-government services could be influenced by service quality dimensions such as reliability, security, efficiency and responsiveness (Sharna, 2015). The objective of this research paper is to investigate factors which would influence South Korean Students’ in China intention to use e-government services. The following research questions have been formulated to enable us to achieve the objective of this study. The research questions are as follows: • • • • •

Does the citizen’s intention to use adopt and use e-government services influenced by perceived usefulness of e-government services? Does the perceived ease of use of e-government services have a significant impact citizen’s intention to use and adopt e-government services? Is citizen intention to use e-government services significantly impacted by perceived service quality of e-government services? Does citizen trust have a direct significant impact intention to use e-government services? Does citizen trust positively moderate the positive relationship between perceived usefulness and intention to use e-government services?

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• •

Is the positive relationship between perceived ease of use and intention to use e-government services significantly moderated by citizen trust? Does citizen trust moderate significantly between perceived service quality and intention to use e-government services?

The rest of the paper is organized as follows: discussion of the appropriate literature review, a theoretical framework for the study, discussion of the predictors used in the study, research model and hypotheses, research methodology, results, discussion, implications, and conclusions as well as the limitation of the study. LITERATURE REVIEW The concept of e-governance/government is to deepen and redefined existing relationships as well as the interaction between government and major actors in society such as citizens, businesses, employees, civil society and non-governmental organizations. These major blocks of society have led Table 1. Characteristics of E-government (Fang, 2002) Interaction

Information

Communication Online

Transaction

G2C/ C2G

Information requests of a firm or the citizen regarding taxes, business licenses, registers laws, political programs administrative responsibilities etc.

Information requests and discussion regarding administrative processes and products; communication with politicians, authorities etc.

Online delivery of service and posting of results; electronic voting, providing solution online and participation online etc.

Information requests of a firm or the citizen regarding taxes, business licenses, registers, laws, business programs, businesses policies, administrative responsibilities etc.

information requests and discussion regarding administrative processes for businesses and products; communication with politicians, authorities etc.

Online delivery of service and posting of the result; electronic transactions of accounting, e-auditing, e-procurement, and e-shopping etc.

G2G

Exchange of information among different authorities and different hierarchical levels, regarding administrative acts laws, policy making, data, projects, background information to decisions etc.

information is exchanged among different authorities and different hierarchical levels; discussion fora, communication in negation and decision making; interaction regarding administrative acts and laws, projects or programs etc.

Inter-organizational workflow and exchange of data, exchange policy and solution online, information and knowledge management etc.

N2G/ G2N

Exchange of information regarding administrative acts, administrative policy, data, registers, laws, political programs, background information on decisions etc.

Information is exchanged among different organizations and agencies; discussion fora; communication in negation and decision making; interaction regarding administrative acts

Intra-organizational workflow and exchange of policy and solution, data, information and knowledge management etc.

G2E

Exchange of information regarding works and performance, personnel policy, data, and notice for career management and development of government employees etc.

Information is exchanged among different department or persons; discussion for a; communication in negotiation and decision making; interaction regarding works and performance etc

Interpersonal workflow and exchange of personnel policy and solution, data, information and knowledge management and participation online etc.

G2B/ BG

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to the classification of e-government into Government-to-Citizens (G2C), Government-to-businesses (G2B), Government-to-employees (G2E), Government-to-Government (G2G), Government-to-Civil Society (G2CS) and Government-to- non-government organizations (G2NGOR). The characteristics of these classifications of e-government are presented in Table 1. This was adopted from Fang (2002). There are many e-government development stages which have been proposed by several scholars for the successful adoption and implementation of e-government to achieve these interactions between government and the key actors discussed in Table 1. The most widely discussed in the literature is the Layne and Lee (2001) four stage e-government development model which stipulates the Catalogue, Transaction, Vertical integration and Horizontal integration as the stages of e-government development (Layne and Lee 2001). Other similar models have been proposed by Andersen and Henriksen (2006) which are cultivation, extension, maturity and revolution, United Nations (2012) which are emerging information, enhance information services, transactional services and connected services, Alhomod et al., (2012) which are presence on the web, interaction between the citizen and the government, complete transaction over the web and integration of services, Hiller and Belanger (2001) which are information, two-way communications, transaction, integration and participation, West (2004) which are billboard, partial service delivery, portal or the one stop shop portal and interactive democracy, Moon (2002) which are simple information dissemination, two-way communication, service and financial transactions, integration and political participation and Reddick (2004) which are cataloguing and transaction stages. All these proposed stages of e-government development are variations of the Layne and Lee model (2001). Hence, a brief discussion of the Layne and Lee Model is discussed below. Catalogue Stage The catalogue stage is the important stage of the e-government development processes where government through its public sector agencies makes efforts to establish a web presence. According to Layne and Lee (2001) this stage the goal of government is to establish an online presence to present limited government information to the general public. This information could include information about how and where to access to public services, information on laws, regulations, public policy formulation and downloadable forms etc. Transaction Stage The second stage is known as the transaction-based e-government where the main focus of government is to connect the internal government system to an online interface which would allow citizens as well the general public to transact electronically with government and its public sector agencies (Layne and Lee, 2001). This stage allows citizens to pay and renew licenses, pay fines online, property rate, taxes etc. Vertical Integration The vertical integration stage of the e-government development process has to do with the integration of higher levels of government systems within similar functions or jurisdictions. According to Layne and Lee (2001), the Vertical integration refers to local, state and federal governments connected for different functions or services of government where for example a driver’s license registration system at a local or state level could be linked to a national database of licensed truckers for cross checking. Horizontal Integration The horizontal integration is defined as the integration of government systems across different functions and services (Layne and Lee, 2001). Layne and Lee (2001) states that an example of the horizontal integration could be a business able to pay its unemployment insurance to one state agency and its state businesses taxes to another state agency at the same time due to the fact that the systems are able to talk with each other from the same database.

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E-GOVERNMENT RANKINGS The United Nations Department of Economics and Social Affairs, under the Division of Public Administration and Development Management, have for the past nine (2001-2016) years have undertaken e-government development survey around the world to examine the extent and progress of each country towards the successful adoption and implementation of e-government. The most recent one was the United Nations E-Government Survey 2016 under the theme “E-Government in Support of Sustainable Development”. The survey indicated that more governments are encouraging and embracing Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) to deliver services and engage people in decision-making process towards the national affairs of countries (UN Survey,2016). It further indicated that there is a positive global trend towards higher levels of e-government development to achieve advancement of people-driven services i.e. public services that reflect the needs of the people. Also, the 2016 Survey provides new evidence that e-government has the potential to help support the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and 14 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The top countries in E-Government Development Index (EGDI) and E-participation Index (EPI) around the world according to the United Nations 2016 Survey are shown in Table 2. The Republic of South Korea as indicated in Table 2 is among the top countries in the world when it comes to both the E-government Development Indexes (EGDI) and the E-participation Indexes (EPI) while China does not feature as one of the top countries in both indexes. E-GOVERNMENT RANKINGS OF CHINA AND SOUTH KOREA This section would seek to compare and contrast the E-government Development Indexes (EGDI) and rankings of both China and South Korea from the 2010 to 2016 United Nations E-government Surveys conducted during these 4 years periods. These indexes are shown Table 3. China’s extent of e-government development according to the United Nations e-government surveys was ranked 72 with an index of 0.4700 in 2010, 78th with an index of 0.5359, 70th with an index of 0.5450 and 63rd with an index of 0.6071 while South Korea was ranked the 1st from 2010 to 2014 with an index of 0.8785, 0.9283 and 0.9462 respectively for the year 2010, 2012 and 2014. In 2016, however, South Korea dropped from been the top country in e-government development

Table 2. Global Top E-government countries E-government Development Index

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E-participation Index

Country

Index

Country

Index

United Kingdom

0.9193

United Kingdom

1.0000

Australia

0.9143

Japan

0.9831

Republic of South Korea

0.8915

Australia

0.9831

Singapore

0.8828

Republic of South Korea

0.9661

Finland

0.8817

Netherlands

0.9492

Sweden

0.8704

New Zealand

0.9492

Netherlands

0.8659

Spain

0.9322

New Zealand

0.8653

Singapore

0.9153

Demark

0.8510

Canada

0.9153

France

0.8456

Italy

0.9153

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Table 3. World E-government rankings for China and South Korea (2010-2016) Year Country

2010

2012

2014

2016

Index

Rank

Index

Rank

Index

Rank

Index

Rank

China

0.4700

72

0.5359

78

0.5450

70

0.6071

63

South Korea

0.8785

1

0.9283

1

0.9462

1

0.8915

3

World Average

0.4406

0.4882

0.4712

0.4922

to a third place. The data as presented in Table 3 is indicative that e-government development and implementation in South Korea is more advanced than what pertains in China. RESEARCH THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK The Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) (Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975), Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) (Ajzen, 1985), Innovation Diffusion Theory (IDT) (Rogers, 1995), Unified theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) (Venkatesh, Morris, Davis & Davis, 2003), Extended Technology Acceptance Model (ETAM) (Vankaesh and Davis, 2000) and Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) (Davis, 1989) are some of the most popular technology adoption theories which has been use over the years to investigate prediction of e-government adoption and usage. But for the conduct of this research work, we shall adopt the TAM as the research/theoretical framework. The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) provides a theoretical basis for user acceptance and user behavior of information technology. The two core principal of TAM is perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use which ultimately influences the behavioral intention or attitude to a use a system. Perceived usefulness is defined as “the degree to which an individual believes that using a particular system would enhance his or her productivity” while perceived ease of use is “the degree to which an individual believes that using a particular system would be free of effort” (Davis, 1989). The following section discusses studies which have applied the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to explore the acceptance of e-government services. In the study of (Omar Al-Hujran et al,2015), applied the TAM to study Jordanian citizens attitude towards the use of e-government services by incorporation set of social, political and cultural constructs such as trust, perceived public value and national culture. The study found that citizen attitude toward using government services is largely and significantly determinant of citizen intention to adopt and use e-government services while citizen attitude is jointly determined by perceived public values and perceived ease of use. The study of Rania & Benoit (2015), indicates that by developing trustworthiness and active citizenship, citizen behavioral intention to adopt and use e-government services would increase. The study concludes that intentions to use public e-services grow stronger when the government foster trustworthiness and empowers average, passive citizens (Rania & Benoit, 2015). Further, the study of (Horst, Kuttschreuter, & Gutteling, 2007), on the e-government adoption in the Netherlands, it found that perceived usefulness was the main determinant of intention to use e-government services while the trust was found to be a determinant of the perceived usefulness of e-government services. This finding was further confirmed in the study of (Lean, Zailani, Ramayah, & Fernando, 2009), which found that perceived usefulness has a direct positive significant towards an intention to use e-government services. However, contrary to previous research, the findings of (Alomari et al,2012) found out that trust in the internet and perceived ease of use were not found to be significant predictors of intention to use e-government services among Jordanian citizens’ whilst Trust in Government and perceived usefulness were rather a significant determinant of Jordanian citizen’s intention to use e-government services. 19

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This study decided to adapt the TAM as the theoretical foundation for the study due to the fact that it has been empirically tested, and validated through multiple studies as discussed above and hence considered to be robust. Importantly as compared to other technology acceptance theories, TAM can be modified to include several factors as necessary to fit a particular context of study such as e-government adoption studies. PERCEIVED SERVICE QUALITY (PSQ) E-government is prominence as the means for effective public service delivery to citizens which has resulted in increased interest in investigating the service quality dimensions (Shirish et al 2011). Service quality is the major factor for organization sustainability and one of the driving forces for an organization’s achievement (Santos, 2003). Perceived service quality is the evaluation and comparison of citizens’ expectation of how an organization or company should perform and the expected service performance that citizens perceive (Parasuraman et al, 1998). In the context of e-government, e-government service, quality could be defined as the degree to which an e-government portal or website facilitates the competent delivery of efficient e-services to assist citizens, businesses, and the general public to have a successful interaction with government and its state institutions(Tan et al 2008). The quality of e-government services can play an enormous role in improving e-government efficiency and increasing citizens’ satisfaction (Alanezi et al, 2010). Comprehending that quality of e-government services has an impact on user’s satisfaction, government service managers and governmental can invest valuable scarce resources in e-service quality that would work effectively (Alanezi et al, 2010). In the study of (Fan & Yan, 2015) service quality perception was found to have a significant effect on public satisfaction with e-government services. CITIZEN TRUST (CT) Trust is crucial to the adoption of e-government services. The use of citizen trust in this research connotes two meaning, thus trust in both the internet and in government. Trust in Government provides citizens with the opportunity to actively engage in e-participation (use e-government service) since it encourages citizens to have a sense of citizenship and cooperation with the government (Lee and Kim, 2014). Trust in the internet and trust in government should enhance e-government adoption (Carter & Belanger, 2015). Issues such as security, privacy and transparency concerns by citizens could present a barrier to the use of the internet if the element of trust is lacking (Rania & Benoit 2015). The lack of trust in the levels of security and privacy were found to be the important significant determinants of citizen’s intention to adopt and use e-government services in the context of Lebanon (Harfouche and Robbin, 2012). Trust of citizens in both government and the internet is very vital in the adoption and acceptance of e-government services by citizens (Srivastava and Teo,2004). The research findings of (AlAwadhi and Morris, 2009; Alomari et al., 2012; Al-Sobhi et al, 2001) showed that trust is a positive and significant factor which affects citizens intention to use adopt and use e-government services. According to (Warkentin et al, 2005), citizen’s trust is a major and fundamental motivation in the adoption and use of e-government by citizens. Trust was critical factor which was identified as the major determinate of Saudi citizens to adopt and use e-government services (Alharbi, et al 2015). RESEARCH MODEL AND HYPOTHESES Research Model On the basis of literature review, it is assumed that intentions to use public e-services are influenced by the factors under consideration. The following research framework in Figure 1 is proposed considering the variables and their assumed relationships. 20

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Figure 1. Research model

It is assumed that the independent variables of Perceived Usefulness (PU), Perceived Ease of Use (PEOU) and Perceived Service Quality (PSQ) significantly influence an individual’s intentions to use e-government services. Furthermore, citizens’ trust (CT) not only influences the intentions to use but also moderates the relationship between the all the independent variables under consideration and the intention to use. RESEARCH HYPOTHESES Based on the literature and theoretical review conducted this research would investigate the following hypotheses: H1: Citizens’ intention to use (IU) and adopt e-government services is significantly influenced by Perceived Usefulness (PU). H2: Perceived Ease of Use (PEOU) has a significant impact on citizens’ intention to use (IU) and adopt e-government services. H3: Citizens’ intention to use (IU) and adopt e-government services is significantly influenced by Perceived Service Quality (PSQ) H4: Citizen Trust has a significant impact on citizen’s intention to use (IU) and adopt e-government services. Moderation Role of Citizen Trust (CT) H5: The relationship between Perceived Usefulness (PU) and intention to use (IU) is moderated by citizen’s trust (CT). H6: The relationship between Perceived Ease of Use (PEOU) and intention to use (IU) is moderated by citizen’s trust (CT).

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H7: The relationship between Perceived Service Quality (PSQ) and intention to use (IU) is moderated by citizen’s trust (CT). RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Research Design The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) was used as the theoretical basis for the study. The research design was explanatory/causal in nature that is we try to explain the effects of the factors under consideration on the intentions to use and adopt e-government services. We have used correlation analysis to check whether or not significant correlations exist between the variables of perceived usefulness (PU), perceived ease of use (PEOU), perceived service quality (PSQ), citizen trust (CT) and intentions to use (IU) e-government services. In order to analyze the causality between these variables, we used simple linear regression and multiple regression analysis. Moderation was analyzed by centralizing the independent and moderating variables and analyzing the effect of their interaction on the dependent variable. Sampling Since this research is mainly focused on Korean students studying in China. The main sampling population was the Korean students studying in China. A sample of 400 Korean students was selected on the basis of random sampling technique from the city of Harbin. The total of 400 questionnaires was distributed through a paper-based data collection technique in which 375 were submitted back representing 93.75% response rate of the questionnaire distributed. Measure of Instruments A carefully designed research questionnaire with 5 points Likert scale was adapted for the research study. The questionnaire instrument items were adapted from several previous validated published studies in e-government from which it was rephrased to fit our e-government services context and the purpose of this research. The instrument was translated from English to the Korean Language to enable potential respondents to understand and resonate with it. The questionnaire was divided into 5 sections measuring the variables of variables of perceived usefulness (PU), perceived ease of use (PEOU), perceived service quality (PSQ), citizen trust (CT) and intentions to use (IU) e-government services respectively. Each section contained 5 questions. The brief description of each of these variables is shown in Table 4. RESULTS The data was analyzed using Pearson Correlation in the very beginning to check whether significant correlations exist between the variables of interest or not. In addition, descriptive analysis was also performed to check the means and standard deviations of the variables of interest. Later on, regression analysis was performed to test the hypothesis under consideration. Furthermore, independent sample t-test was also used to the analyze gender differences regarding the variables of interest. Demographic Statistics Out of the total 375 responses received, two hundred and twenty-six (226) are females representing 60.3% while one hundred and forty-nine (149) are males which represent 39.7%. The age distribution of respondents are 18-25 (281)-74.9%, 26-30 (62)- 16.5%, 31-35 (19)-5.1%, 36-40(19)-3.2% and 41+(1)-0.3%. In term of Highest Education of the respondent, the majority (346) were College/ University graduates accounting for 92.3% while 29 of them were postgraduate (masters/Ph.D.) representing 7.7%. The demographic statistics of the respondent are displayed in Table 5. 22

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Table 4. Description of variables Variable

Description

Source

Perceived Usefulness (PU)

The degree to which a person believes that using a particular system would enhance his or her job performance

Davis, 1989

Perceived Ease of Use PEOU)

the extent to which a person believes that using a particular system would be free of effort and challenges

Davis, 1989

Perceive Service Quality SQ)

Service quality has to do with the ability of e-government services to provide accurate, reliable, and relevant and ease to understand information for the satisfaction of citizens.

George and Kumar, 2014

Citizen Trust (CT)

Trust in the Internet has to do with security and privacy issues while Trust in Government is the citizen’s opinion and assessment of government based on their perceptions of political authorities, agencies and institutions integrity and capability to provide services according to expectations of citizens

(Belanger and Carter, 2008; Levi and Stoker, 2000; Carter and Belanger, 2005)

Intention to Use (IU)

Intention is considered as a predictor of behavior

Davis, 1989

Table 5. Demographic statistics Item

Frequency (N)

Percentage (%)

Gender Female

226

60.3

Male

149

39.7

Age Distribution 18-25

281

74.9

26-30

62

16.5

31-35

19

5.1

36-40

12

3.2

41 and above

1

0.3

Education College/University

346

92.3

Postgraduate (Masters/PhD)

29

7.7

Table 6. Correlation Perceived Usefulness Perceived Usefulness

Ease of Use

Service Quality

Citizen Trust

Intentions to use

.675

Ease of Use

.509**

.730

Service Quality

.617**

.627**

.814

Citizen Trust

.212**

.213**

.380**

.637

Intentions to use

.556**

.617**

.667**

. 393**

.717

Mean

3.9125

3.4832

3.6245

2.728

3.4757

Standard Deviation

0.83251

0.72267

0.73684

0.82283

0.65065

**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

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Descriptive Analysis, Correlations, and Reliability The Table 6 summarized the results of descriptive and correlational analysis along with the Cronbach’s alpha measure of reliability. Table 6 contains the results of the correlation analysis along the means and standard deviations of each variable. The top diagonal numbers of each column of the shows the measure of reliability that is Cronbach’s alpha for each respective variable. The means and standard deviations for the variables of perceived usefulness (PU), perceived ease of use (PEOU), perceived service quality (PSQ), citizen trust (CT) and intentions to use (IU) e-government services are 3.9125 (0.83251), 3.4832 (0.72267), 3.6245 (0.73684), 2.728 (0.82283), 3.4757 (0.65065) respectively. As expected, the results of the correlational analysis showed significant positive relationships with perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use at r = .509 and p < .01. The correlation between perceived usefulness and perceived service quality was also found to be positive at r = .617, p < .01. Furthermore, the relationship between perceived usefulness and citizen trust was also found to be positive at r - .212 and p < .01. Moreover, the relationship between perceived usefulness and intentions to use was also found to be positive at r = .556 and p < .01. Looking at the further correlations of perceived ease of use, it had a positive correlation with service quality at r =.627 and p < .01. Perceived ease of use was also significantly correlated to citizen trust at r =.212 and p < .01. Exploring further, it was also positively related to intentions to use at r = .556 and p < .01. Service quality had a positive significant correlation with citizen trust at r = .380 and p < .01. Service. Furthermore, service quality had a positive relationship with intentions to use at r = .667 and p < .01. Finally, citizen trust had a positive correlation with intentions to use at r = .393 and p < .01. Causal Effects of Variables Table 7 summarizes the results of the regression analysis conducted to test the main effects of the variables proposed from hypothesis 1 to hypothesis 4. The results showed that perceived usefulness significantly predicted intentions to use (β = .435, t = -12.934, p