E-Government Diffusion in Jordan: Employees' Perceptions Toward Electronic Government in Jordan

Abstract

A number of countries, in both developed and developing nations, have started e-government programs that aim to provide public services online, improve government procedures and, most importantly, provide improved services for citizens. The aim of this paper is to identify the factors that are currently influencing the development and diffusion of e-government in Jordan as perceived by government employees involved in e-government service delivery. The study also investigates how Jordan government benefit from the generous advantages created by such applications and avoid the barriers that hinder its' implementation. In this research a quantitative survey is used in three key public service agencies in Jordan that include the municipality of Amman, licenses and vehicle department and the tax department. All three selected public agencies were actively involved in e-government and have some transaction level of e-government services. The research identifies nine key factors that are influencing the progress of the national e-government project in Jordan. Ease of use and access to the internet and trust on the system may lead to high levels of confidence among employees' in relation to e-government adoption. The most important benefit that encourage e-government adoption is found to be providing a more reliable service to customers while the most important barrier that inhibit its adoption is found to be the difficulty of maintaining the government websites.