An Investigation into E-participation Adoption

: Factors Influencing Provision and Utilisation of E-participation Opportunities in Tanzania

Crynodeb

Research on the adoption of e-participation without considering government-citizen relationships does not generate adequate knowledge about the magnitude, patterns and factors influencing the adoption. Previous studies of the adoption of e-participation, which included Tanzania in their populations, excluded government-citizen relationships in their measurement approaches. Before this research, the significant factors of adoption of e-participation in Tanzania were not fully known as a proxy is not always accurate. This study, therefore, examines the factors which influence the adoption of e-participation in Tanzania. The focus is on e-participation, which reflects the top-down, bottom-up relationship between the government and citizens. The research methods were a survey, web content analysis and a face-to-face semi-structured interview, and the collected data were analysed quantitatively and qualitatively. Rogers Diffusion of Innovation theory informed the analytical framework. Samples, which were achieved through probability and non-probability strategies, were drawn from the populations of Tanzanian citizens, government officials, government ministries and traditional national media institutions. The findings revealed that the adoption of e-information was high, but it not total, while the adoption of e-consultation and e-decision-making was low. However, citizens deliberated on policy issues on social media pages of traditional national media institutions. Government guidance, communication standards, values, needs, and discretionary decisions were among the factors, which were associated with the adoption of e-participation in Tanzania.
In e-participation research, usage of e-participation features and available information on government websites enhances an understanding of the adoption of e-participation rather than its proxy, which is the e-participation environment. Usage is critical as the evidence shows it captures the dynamic and reciprocal government-citizen relationships adequately.

Dyddiad Dyfarnu	2018
Iaith wreiddiol	Saesneg
Sefydliad Dyfarnu	Prifysgol Aberystwyth
Goruchwyliwr	Pauline Rafferty (Goruchwylydd) & Allen Foster (Goruchwylydd)