From e-govemment to cloud-government: Challenges of Jordanian citizens' acceptance for public services

Abstract

Abstract-On the inception of the third millennium, there is much evidence that cloud technologies have become the strategic trend for many governments, not only for developed countries (e.g. the UK, Japan and the USA), but also developing countries (e.g. Malaysia and countries in the Middle East region). These countries have launched cloud computing movements for enhanced standardization of IT resources, cost reduction and more efficient public services. Cloud-based e-government services are considered to be one of the high priorities for government agencies in Jordan. Although experiencing phenomenal evolution, government cloud-services are still suffering from the adoption challenges of e-government initiatives (e.g. technological, human, social and financial aspects) which need to be considered carefully by governments contemplating their implementation. While e-government adoption from the citizens' perspective has been extensively investigated using different theoretical models, these models have not paid adequate attention to security issues. This paper presents a pilot study to investigate citizens' perceptions of the extent to which these challenges inhibit the acceptance and use of cloud computing in the Jordanian public sector and examine the effect of these challenges on the security perceptions of citizens. Based on the analysis of data collected from online surveys, some important challenges were identified. The results can help to guide successful acceptance of cloud-based egovernment services in Jordan.

Issues and Challenges: Cloud Computing e-Government in Developing Countries

“…E-Government plays a crucial role in processing information for the management of citizens and businesses by the government [12]. An e-government initiative may include a citizen-centric portal, online income tax, land and property system, e-learning, e-social services, government to employee portal and integrated financial management systems [13]. e-Government has been associated with numerous challenges that make it difficult to be implemented in developing countries.…”

Cloud Computing in Government Organizations-Towards a New Comprehensive Model

“…Similarly, a study by Lal and Bharadwaj [22] focused on integrating an existing e-government system with cloud computing using the TOE model [6]. Martin's et al [9] found that awareness, relative advantage, cultural environment and organisational attitudes have an influence on the intention of organisations to adopt cloud computing [7]. Martin's et al [9] suggested that the measurement of any success of new technologies depends on the context of the system or organisations.…”

“…• Top management support: considers how the role of how top management has an important influence on the adoption of cloud computing. Therefore, top management support refers to the role of top managers in supporting decision-making that adopts and implements information technology in order to seek to develop the organisation with technological investments [7]. Based on our literature review concerning the adoption of cloud computing, it is found that top management support is one of the most important factors affecting the adoption of IT at the organisational level [20].…”

“…Moreover, organisational size, according to the TOE structure, was one of the most important factors influencing the organisations' intention to accept innovation [30]. Kurdi et al [7] have also found that the organisation's size has a positive impact on investment in cloud computing technology. Low et al [32] found that the organisation's size will affect the adoption of new technology.…”

“…For example, citizens are not able to access e-government services easily, say on a mobile phone platform or tablet computer. Also, the quality of e-government services does not match the expectations of citizens [7]. Other challenges influencing the adoption of cloud computing in e-government systems include availability, trust, cost, and the issue of security.…”