Drivers of E-Government Citizen Satisfaction and Adoption: The Case of Jordan

Introduction

For the Jordanian citizens, integrated-government services largely remain dream, despite numerous recent initiatives aiming to provide access to electronic services from government agencies .While e-services have been launched by a number of government agencies in Jordan and have seen improvement in recent years, many have struggled to be adopted by citizens. These challenges are in line with prior research indicating that the implementation of government e-services may face considerable difficulties in Jordan. Al-rawahna, Chen, and Hung (2018) listed numerous barriers facing the implementation of effective e-government services in Jordan, including information quality, service quality, and the need for expanded IT infrastructures readiness. The responsibility of governments globally is to provide citizens with access to distinctive services and to satisfactorily facilitate government transactions. The successful provision of e-government services is an important component of this responsibility in the modern era and necessitates that the satisfaction and needs of citizens are central concerns while developing e-government programs. The use of social customer relationship management (CRM) may be an essential tool to this end. This study investigates the impact of social CRM on citizen trust, service quality, and citizen satisfaction, noting that each of these are critical determinants of the success of e-government in Jordan.

E-government is defined by Rorissa, Demissie, and Pardo (2011) as the governmental provision of efficient and effective services to citizens, businesses, or other government units using internet facilities. Fang (2002) refers to e-government as a redesigning of the public sector to provide services and carry out transactions through electronic channels from any place, at any time. Fang further indicates that the accessibility of e-government allows for equal access to services by all stakeholders and fosters communication between citizens and governments. This understanding of e-government underlines its importance and indicates that governing bodies should make every effort to understand all factors impacting the provision of electronic services. Al Awadhi and Morris (2008) argue that the success of e-government initiatives depends not only on the level of government support demonstrated by officials, but also on the extent to which other parties accept this new method and their willingness to use it. E-government implementation, therefore, depends on the cooperation of government policies and legislation, and relies on overcoming resistance to change. Beyond a focus on technological advances, the implementation of e-government services consequently requires an integrated vision towards organizational transformation (Nograšek, 2011).

Through increased effectiveness of e-services, the Government of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan seeks to achieve improved indicators of good governance principles in the public sector by increasing transparency, fighting corruption, and addressing difficult economic conditions. Using Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and increasing levels of electronic services available to Jordanian citizens have become significant tools for enhancing relationships with constituents and applying improved governance techniques (Ali & Mujahid, 2015). These efforts are reaffirmed by research by Bonson, Torres, Royo, and Flores (2012) indicating that the internet, particularly Web2.0, will enhance the interactivity, clarity, and openness of the public sector and support new forms of government liability and application o effective governance.

Many researchers have produced studies identifying and exploring the factors influencing citizen adoption of e-government and e-government success factors in the Jordanian context, as shown in Table 1.