An exploratory study on the role of intermediaries in delivering public services in Madinah City

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of the intermediary in delivering public services from government departments to different stakeholders (business and citizens) and to highlight the challenges that face the development of e‐government services in the context of Madinah City, in Saudi Arabia.Design/methodology/approachThe paper uses a broad literature review to identify significant factors that contribute to e‐government adoption and diffusion success. These factors are then used as a basis for analyzing the findings from a case study that focuses on the concept of intermediaries for e‐government service delivery in Saudi Arabia. To investigate a less‐recognized phenomenon, such as the use of intermediaries in e‐government contexts, the authors adopt a qualitative case study approach to gain further understating. This method allowed examining the phenomenon in its natural settings through employing multiple methods of data collection. Further, it gave the researchers enough room to get a closer look at the reasons behind introducing the intermediary concept in the e‐government context and provided considerable flexibility during interviews and observations.FindingsThe results of this paper indicate that digital divide and poor infrastructure to conduct payments (secure transactions) for e‐government services was hindering citizens' adoption of e‐services in Saudi Arabia. Thus, the intermediary concept was facilitating citizens' access to e‐government services and helping to reduce the digital divide in Saudi Arabia. The findings also show that intermediaries helped in increasing the availability of e‐government services. Additionally, this paper finds that trust between the service provider (government) and service requester (citizens and businesses) is an important factor that influences not only e‐government adoption and diffusion, but also the role of electronic intermediary (e‐offices) in facilitating this adoption.Originality/valueThe authors take into account the most salient adoption factors when introducing e‐government systems. Electronic intermediaries may help to enhance the understating and analysis of those adoption factors in government settings and facilitate government departments in realizing the importance of intermediaries' role in e‐government contexts. Furthermore, this paper significantly contributes to the knowledge and practice of e‐government adoption and diffusion and provides sufficient support to decision makers in expediting e‐government adoption and diffusion.

The “I” Between G and C: E‐Government Intermediaries in Developing Countries

“…This form of intermediation has resulted in diffusion of eGovernment services in Saudi Arabia (Al-Sobhi et al, 2010). A more involved role is uncovered by Madon and Sahay (2002) who describe how an NGO takes on a mediation role with the goal of empowering slum dwellers.…”

An Exploratory study of proposed factors to Adopt e-government Services

“…Developing any framework, such as e-government, that is capable of benefiting private and public organisations, results in a number of challenges for the different stakeholders, both internal and external, of the organisations [1]. Furthermore, in order to build e-government, there are some barriers facing implementation that should be kept in mind.…”

“…Cultural and social influences, including connection (Wasta 1 ), face-to-face interaction, cultural differences and gender issues have an impact on the intention to use e-government services [35]. Privacy is another issue that influences citizen to adopt egovernment services [1]. In addition, web usability and accessibility are also critical factors that affect the intention to use e-government services [36,37].…”

“…rapidly develop, coupled with considerable improvements in digital connectivity, government departments are reassessing the way they work and interact both with internal departments and external organisations [1]. This technology has encouraged the government's organisations and affiliations to reconsider their internal and external relations and transactions.…”

Adoption of Web Based Knowledge Sharing Systems amongst Academic Staff

“…Studies, such as those by Lin et al [23] and Al-Sobhi et al [24], examined the factor and found evidence that this factor is strongly correlated with intention to use and the acceptance of information technology. Thus, in order to encourage staff to adopt online services, an organization needs to provide a budget to build a strong technical infrastructure [25].In addition, IT support or "Knowledge Engineers" provide direct assistance in the processes and circumstances of creating knowledge [26], and, thus, the successful adoption of a new system is commonly based on good implementation and installation of the IT application. Staff codifying and sharing knowledge through a system are required to be already familiar with using the system or there needs to be assistance for users who are unfamiliar with IT.…”