Citizen Trust Development for E-Government Adoption: Case of Singapore

Though nations across the world are realizing the importance of e-Government, its successful adoption and acceptance by citizens still remains an elusive phenomenon. Citizen trust on eGovernment, which appears to be a major contributor for e-Government adoption and acceptance, has not been fully explored by researchers and governments. In this study, we use the theoretical lens of ‘citizen trust’ to understand the ways in which it can be engendered to promote e-Government success. Based on a theoretical synthesis, we identify two dimensions of citizen’s trust on e-Government: trust on government’s ability, motivation and commitment for e-Government and trust on the enabling technologies. Using the case study of e-Government implementation in Singapore, we examine the process by which Singapore government is promoting and maintaining trust for e-Government among its citizens. A careful analysis reveals that Singapore is systematically addressing both the dimensions of citizen trust, which offer a set of lessons learned for other nations to emulate. ‘Citizen trust on the government’ is being engendered in Singapore by putting institutional trust building measures in place, taking feedback from citizens and having top leadership commitment and support for e-Government. ‘Citizen trust on the technology’ is being engendered in Singapore by proactive provision of relevant knowledge and skills and providing a comprehensive and effective legal system. These trust building measures, leading to successful e-Government adoption and acceptance, serve as a guide that can be used by nations across the world to facilitate successful e-Government implementation.

[1]  Kwok Kee Wei,et al.  Successful e-government in Singapore , 2004, CACM.

[2]  Ruth Ann Hattori,et al.  Collaboration, trust and innovative change , 2004 .

[3]  Thompson S. H. Teo,et al.  Information Systems Orientation and Business Use of the Internet: An Empirical Study , 2000, Int. J. Electron. Commer..

[4]  W. Galston.  Trust: The Social Virtues and the Creation of Prosperity , 1996 .

[5]  P. Slovic.  Perception of risk. , 1987, Science.

[6]  Tuure Tuunanen,et al.  Extending Critical Success Factors Methodology to Facilitate Broadly Participative Information Systems Planning , 2003, J. Manag. Inf. Syst..

[7]  Jeffrey L. Bradach,et al.  Price, Authority, and Trust: From Ideal Types to Plural Forms , 1989 .

[8]  C. Macrae.  ‘Trust — the social virtues and the creation of prosperity’ , 2000 .

[9]  V. Grover.  An Empirically Derived Model for the Adoption of Customer‐based Interorganizational Systems* , 1993 .

[10]  Ruey-Lin Hsiao,et al.  Technology fears: distrust and cultural persistence in electronic marketplace adoption , 2003, J. Strateg. Inf. Syst..

[11]  Feng Li,et al.  Implementing E-Government Strategy in Scotland: Current Situation and Emerging Issues , 2003, J. Electron. Commer. Organ..

[12]  Albert L. Lederer,et al.  Information Resource Planning: Overcoming Difficulties in Identifying Top Management's Objectives , 1987, MIS Q..

[13]  A. Meyer,et al.  Organizational Assimilation of Innovations: A Multi-Level Contextual Analysis , 1988 .

[14]  Shirish C. Srivastava.  A Framework for Electronic Government : Evolution , Enablers and Resource Drainers , 2004 .

[15]  S. Sitkin,et al.  Explaining the Limited Effectiveness of Legalistic “Remedies” for Trust/Distrust , 1993 .

[16]  J. Lewis,et al.  Trust as a Social Reality , 1985 .

[17]  Paul A. Pavlou,et al.  Encouraging Citizen Adoption of eGovernment by Building Trust , 2002, Electron. Mark..

[18]  Gerald Grant,et al.  Developing a Generic Framework for E-Government , 2005, J. Glob. Inf. Manag..

[19]  N. L. Chervany,et al.  Initial Trust Formation in New Organizational Relationships , 1998 .

[20]  Kay M. Nelson,et al.  International Conference on Information Systems ( ICIS ) 1993 THE CONTRIBUTION OF SHARED KNOWLEDGE TO IS GROUP PERFORMANCE , 2017 .

[21]  William R. King,et al.  An Empirical Assessment of Information Systems Planning and the Role of Information Systems in Organizations , 1992, J. Manag. Inf. Syst..

[22]  Wanda J. Orlikowski,et al.  Information Technology and the Structuring of Organizations , 2011 .

[23]  D. Gefen,et al.  E-commerce: the role of familiarity and trust , 2000 .

[24]  Peter Bodorik,et al.  Supporting the e-business readiness of small and medium-sized enterprises: approaches and metrics , 2002, Internet Res..

[25]  Sirkka L. Jarvenpaa,et al.  Consumer Trust in an Internet Store: A Cross-Cultural Validation , 2006, J. Comput. Mediat. Commun..

[26]  Subhajit Basu,et al.  E‐government and developing countries: an overview , 2004 .

[27]  J. H. Davis,et al.  An Integrative Model Of Organizational Trust , 1995 .

[28]  M. Siegrist,et al.  Salient Value Similarity, Social Trust, and Risk/Benefit Perception , 2000, Risk analysis : an official publication of the Society for Risk Analysis.

[29]  L. Zucker.  Production of trust: Institutional sources of economic structure, 1840–1920. , 1986 .

[30]  Victor R. Prybutok,et al.  The Three Ring Model and Development of an Instrument for Measuring Dimensions of E-Government Functions , 2003, J. Comput. Inf. Syst..

[31]  R. Solomon,et al.  Building Trust: In Business, Politics, Relationships, and Life , 2001 .