Intention to adopt Electronic Animal Movement Permit (e-GTA) systems in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Abstract

Control of livestock and their movement has long been recognized as a crucial for the prevention and control of diseases. In Brazil, the control of livestock movement established in 1934. Since 1995 is regulated based on the Animal Movement Permit (GTA). Since then, the process has been improved and updated on its legal framework and strategies, including the use of emerging technological alternatives, which made possible the launching of the electronic Animal Movement Permit (e-GTA) in 2011. From a broader perspective, the e-GTA is inserted in a global context of the development of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) which since the early 1980s enabled governments worldwide to drive policies for the development of electronic government systems (e-government). After that, at a global level, there was an expansion and improvement of e-government services; however, discrepancies among countries persisted. Nonetheless, the levels of adoption of e-government by citizens have been lower than those expected by government authorities, which has attracted the attention of researchers in the area. In this context, studies of this nature that used theoretical antecedents related to the adoption of ICT have exposed peculiarities of the process of adoption of e-government, demanding research efforts directed to the structuring of specific models for this area. In Brazil, studies of this nature are still at an early stage, although government actions aimed at e-government date back to the 1990s. The objective of this article was to investigate, in an exploratory way, influence factors on the adoption intention of e-government related to animal health, having the e-GTA as the object of research. The conceptual framework was defined based upon the e-Government Adoption Model (GAM) For this objective, an online questionnaire oriented to intention to adopt e-GTA was applied to equine owners of Rio Grande do Sul not users of this system. Results indicated that respondents positively evaluated the quality of their computers and cellphones, as well as their efficacy to operate them, while quality of the internet connection was considered regular. In this context, the availability of computer and cellphone resources and computer self-efficacy did not influence the intention to adopt e-GTA. Moreover, aspects related to compatibility of e-GTA with users lifestyle have a positive association with the intention to adopt e-GTA. Also the study indicated that public information campaigns could contribute to the improvement of adoption of the e-GTA. Additionally, the authors suggested that further investigations considering other livestock sectors and variables, as well as the continuity of use after the adoption, could contribute to the expansion of the knowledge on this field.