An Investigation of e-Government Adoption in Bahrain and Evaluate the key Determining Factors for Strategic Advantage Ali Mohamed Abbas Kamali http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9438-4062 A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the Requirements of London South Bank University for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy January 2018 DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to my father Mohamed Abbas Kamali and my mother Sakina Mohamed Gulom, for their support and encouragement morally. To my brothers and sisters for their unlimited support and encouragement. To my wife Khayria Mukhtar Mohamed, for her support and motivation throughout the PhD journey. I DECLARATION I declare that the ideas, results, analysis, findings and conclusions reported in this thesis are entirely my own efforts, except where otherwise acknowledged. I also declare that this work is original and has not been previously submitted for any degree award. Many researchers conducted in the field of e-Government services according to literature studies, but this work is totally different because the original idea and work proposed by myself along with my supervisory team. January, 2018 II ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my sincere gratitude to who helped and supported me during my PhD. I am greatly indebted to my main supervisor Professor Shushma Patel (Interim Dean of Engineering and Professor of Information Systems) for her guidance and support, valuable advice, and perceptive suggestions throughout the duration of research and writing-up process for my PhD. I would also like to extend my appreciation to my second supervisor Professor Amare Desta (Professor of Information and Knowledge Management) for his support throughout my Ph.D. studies, and for the patient guidance, encouragement and advice he has provided. I would like also to thank Dr. Xristine Faulkner, who was my second supervisor before she left the university, she was indeed very helpful. I am greatly grateful to Mr. John Harper (PhD Coordinator) and Ms. Louise Campbell (PhD Coordinator) for their constant help and support. Last but not the least; I would like to take this opportunity to thank London South Bank University for giving me the platform and the motivation to achieve my PhD. III ABSTRACT This study investigated the e-Government initiatives in developing countries and analysed Bahrain’s government stance through a case study where the e-Government system is considered as a core strategy. This research therefore sought to address citizens and expatriates' adoption of e-Government services in Bahrain as one of developing countries, which has spent millions of dollars to launch the e-Government initiative, in order to meet the strategic objectives of Bahrain’s government vision 2030. The study included an empirical study using exploratory method to comprehend how citizens/expatriates of Bahrain accept the e-Government service, and evaluated the factors influenced users to adopt this new technology (i.e. e-Service). The research also examined the two aspects of the e-Government services and their stakeholders, including users and service providers. Through a descriptive study, this qualitative case study methodology was conducted via an interview with a key official in the e-Government authority in Bahrain, and the focus group with four specialists in e-Government systems, to determine the e-Government’s usability from the implementation aspects. The quantitative method, on the other hand, was implemented through questionnaires with both citizens and expatriates to determine the e-Government’s usability from the adoption aspects in Bahrain. The extended technology acceptance model (TAM) was used as predictive modelling and a technique for analysing results of the user survey. The newly developed conceptual model via a structural analysis indicated that citizens and expatriates in Bahrain are willing to accept and use the e-Government system, and it is the most determinant methods of peoples' intention with the system. However, the research indicated there are some issues related to the trust and cultural constructs that need to be addressed by the government based on the attitude of citizens and expatriates determined toward Behaviour Intention (BI) directly, and through the perceived usefulness and ease of use. The research indicated the common factors influence e-Government's adoption from both demand and supply aspects in Bahrain, and the best solutions proposed by the respondents. The conclusion of this study based on the findings comprised of a conceptual framework that explained why the citizens and expatriates' adoption of e-Government services as the core strategic enabler to Bahrain's vision 2030. IV Table of Contents DEDICATION ...................................................................................................................... I DECLARATION ................................................................................................................. II ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.............................................................................................. III ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... IV Table of Contents ................................................................................................................ V List of Tables..................................................................................................................... XII List of Figures ................................................................................................................... XV Publication(s) ................................................................................................................. XVII List of Acronyms and Abbreviations......................................................................... XVIII Chapter 1 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Research Background .....................................................................................................1 1.2 Aim of the Investigation .................................................................................................3 1.2.1 E-Government Service based on the Level of Countries.............................................3 1.3 Motivation of the Research.............................................................................................7 1.4 Research Problem and Research Questions....................................................................9 1.5 Research Objectives......................................................................................................10 1.6 Structure of the Thesis ..................................................................................................11 Chapter 2 E-Government in Bahrain............................................................................... 14 2.1 Introduction...................................................................................................................14 2.2 Bahrain Background .....................................................................................................14 2.3 ICT in Bahrain ..............................................................................................................17 2-3-1 ICT Challenges .........................................................................................................18 2-4 E-Government Policy, Law, Infrastructure ..................................................................19 2.4.1 E-Government Policy ................................................................................................21 2.4.2 E-Government Law ...................................................................................................22 2.4.3 E-Government Infrastructure .....................................................................................24 V 2-5 Bahrain’s Vision 2030 ..................................................................................................28 2.6 Summary .......................................................................................................................31 Chapter 3 Literature Review ............................................................................................ 33 3.1 Introduction...................................................................................................................33 3.2 ICT Role in the Context of e-Government ...................................................................33 3.3 Taxonomy of E-Government Definitions .....................................................................35 3.4 Cultural Dimension of ICT Acceptance .......................................................................43 3.5 E-Government in Developing Countries ......................................................................46 3.5.1 E-Government in the Middle East .............................................................................48 3.6 Why the Adoption of e-Government is necessary in Developing Countries................53 3.7 Trust, Security and Privacy in the context of e-Government .......................................55 3.8 Summary .......................................................................................................................57 Chapter 4 Research Methodology .................................................................................... 59 4.1 Introduction...................................................................................................................59