Exploring the Influencing Factors of e-Government Adoption in Rural Municipalities

One of the manifestations of an open government is the implementation of technology in support of transparency or e-government. This study investigated the e-government adoption behaviors of (potential) end-users (government employees and citizens) in selected rural areas in the Philippines, particularly in Camarines Sur. The Unified Model of Electronic Government Adoption (UMEGA) guided the study in determining the factors affecting the citizen's motivation to accept or resist the use of technology in government service delivery. Employing the convergent mixed-method approach, 24 local government employees from Nabua and Bula and 383 citizens from selected municipalities in the 5
^th
district of Camarines Sur were randomly selected as respondents. Using descriptive analysis (quantitative data) and content analysis (qualitative data), most of the surveyed citizens and interviewed employees believed that performance expectancy, effort expectancy, facilitating conditions, social influence, and perceived risks influenced the users’ positive/negative adoption behavior. However, areas of divergence include the citizens’ assessment that performance expectancy highly affects the adoption behavior in contrast with the LGU employees’ perspective pointing to facilitating conditions. This led to uncovering possible causes of resistance to new technology adoption in rural municipalities. The implications of these findings may contribute to the improvement of LGU practices on e-government initiatives in rural areas. In addition, on the technological requirements for an e-government solution that encourages user adoption. Finally, these may increase awareness of the necessary prerequisites that can unmask policies for better ICT-enabled governance not only in metropolitan areas but also in rural regions.