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E-government adoption: A cultural comparison

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Abstract

E-government diffusion is an international phenomenon. This study compares e-government adoption in the U.K. to adoption in the U.S. In particular, this study seeks to determine if the same factors are salient in both countries. Several studies have explored citizen acceptance of e-government services in the U.S. However, few studies have explored this phenomenon in the U.K. To identify the similarities and differences between the U.K. and the U.S. a survey is conducted in the U.K. and the findings are compared to the literature that investigates diffusion in the U.S. This study proposes a model of e-government adoption in the U.K. based on salient factors in the U.S. A survey is administered to 260 citizens in London to assess the importance of relative advantage, trust and the digital divide on intention to use e-government. The results of binary logistic regression indicate that there are cultural differences in e-government adoption in the U.K. and the U.S. The results indicate that of the prevailing adoption constructs, relative advantage and trust are pertinent in both the U.S. and the U.K., while ICT adoption barriers such as access and skill may vary by culture. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

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Acknowledgement

The authors wish to thank Mr. Jitin Mistry for administering the survey questionnaire in the United Kingdom and acknowledge the overall contribution made to this research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Business and Economics, North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University, 1601 East Market Street, Greensboro, NC, 27411, USA

    Lemuria Carter

  2. School of Information Systems, Computing and Mathematics, Brunel University, Uxbridge, Middlesex, UB8 3PH, UK

    Vishanth Weerakkody

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  1. Lemuria Carter
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  2. Vishanth Weerakkody
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Correspondence to Lemuria Carter.

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Carter, L., Weerakkody, V. E-government adoption: A cultural comparison. Inf Syst Front 10, 473–482 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10796-008-9103-6

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