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The study scrutinized the behavioral adoption of informational e-government services among Chinese citizens in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. A structural equation modeling (SEM) technique was applied for the data analysis using Smart PLS 3.0 statistical software. The results show that information quality, information credibility, and ease of COVID-19 informational e-government services are significant in determining citizens’ perception of the usefulness of COVID-19 information shared on e-government platforms. Also, the study revealed that the perceived usefulness of COVID-19 informational e-government services was significant in predicting citizens’ intention to adopt and recommend COVID-19 informational e-government services. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are interrogated further.
Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to explain the role of trust in cloud computing services based on empirical evidence from interviewing executives of financial institutions in Ghana. The paper answers the questions: what is the role of trust in cloud computing service acquisition, and what policies promote trusted cloud computing services?
Design/methodology/approach
– This is an explanatory paper that is based on literature review and empirical data on exploring reasons for cloud computing service acquisitions. A combination of interviews and focus group discussions was used as methods for data collection. Information technology and electronic banking executives of five major commercial banks in Accra, Ghana, between January and July 2013 were interviewed. A total of ten respondents were interviewed, two in each of the selected banks. A purposive sampling technique was used in the selection of informants. This approach allows the selection of qualified informants to ensure extensiveness and diversity of opinion.
Findings
– Although previous literature proffers various factors as key to cloud computing adoption, uses or provisioning, this study brings trust to the fore as an imperative for cloud computing service acquisition by financial institutions. It also shows that trust increases if users perceive that cloud computing service providers act in honesty and in users’ interest, making trust a fundamental factor that informs financial institutions’ decision to acquire cloud computing services.
Research limitations/implications
– The research introduces a new dimension about the widely held perceptions of the factors that influence adoption of cloud computing services.
Practical implications
– Developers of cloud computing solutions that are targeted at corporate users must focus on systems that enhances their trustworthiness, as it is a primary criteria for user buy-in. Similarly, any trust-building effort by cloud computing service providers minimizes users’ concerns and pushes the services providers closer to the trust threshold.
Originality/value
– The paper outlines the trust factors that are imperative for cloud computing uses by financial institutions. This is one of the pioneering papers that address trust issues in cloud computing from the perspective of financial institutions.
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