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Influence of
Investigating the influence of transparency
transparency on the adoption of
e-Government in Indonesia
Alvedi Sabani
School of Accounting, Information Systems and Supply Chain, RMIT University,
Melbourne, Australia Received 19 March 2020
Revised 20 August 2020
25 September 2020
Accepted 28 September 2020

Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to extend and validate the unified theory of acceptance and use of
technology (UTAUT) for investigating the effect of transparency on the adoption of e-Government in
Indonesia from the perspective of citizens.
Design/methodology/approach – A comprehensive review of the related literature leads to the
development of a transparency-focused conceptual model to better understanding the adoption of e-Government.
Structural equation modelling is used for analysing the data collected from the citizens in Indonesia.
Findings – This study confirms that performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence,
facilitating conditions and transparency are the critical factors for evaluating the citizen adoption of
e-Government in Indonesia. In addition, transparency is found to be the strongest factor that influences the
decision of Indonesian citizens to adopt e-Government.
Research limitations/implications – From the theoretical perspective, the use of the UTAUT model is
extended by incorporating the transparency factor that is vital to the adoption of e-Government in developing
countries such as Indonesia.
Practical implications – In terms of managerial and policy implications, this research offers the
Indonesian Government suggestions on how the adoption of e-Government can be improved.
Originality/value – This is the first study that extends and empirically validates the UTAUT model with
transparency for evaluating the adoption of e-Government from the perspective of citizens in Indonesia. It
demonstrates how the transparency factor can be incorporated to better understand the adoption of
e-Government in such a context.
Keywords UTAUT, Transparency, Adoption, Critical factors, Transparency, Adoption,
e-government
Paper type Research paper

Introduction
Electronic government (e-Government) refers to the use of information and communication
technologies (ICT) for improving the delivery of public services to citizens and businesses
(Antoni et al., 2019; Nam, 2014; Obi and Naoko, 2016). The adoption of e-Government offers
countries a new approach to promoting transparency and efficiency at the same time (Bertot
et al., 2012). Developed countries across Asia, Europe and the Americas have all claimed
successes in reducing corruption through e-Government (Bertot et al., 2010; Kim et al., 2009).
Taxes and public procurements are areas where e-Government has been seen as a clear and
successful solution to corruption problems in many developed nations (Obi and Naoko,

Journal of Science and Technology

Policy Management
This research was supported by an Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP) © Emerald Publishing Limited
2053-4620
Scholarship. DOI 10.1108/JSTPM-03-2020-0046
JSTPM 2016). This leads to the rapid development of e-Government in many developing countries
such as Indonesia to promote transparency and fight corruption.
Corruption is one of the most epidemic problems in Indonesia. The practice is widespread
across public organizations in the country. In almost every comparative study of corruption
between countries, Indonesia sits at the top of the pyramid (Transparency International,
2018). In the effort to break the corruption cycle, the Indonesian Government has committed
to spending almost US$7bn for the development of e-Government as a platform for a
transparent and open government system (Republik Indonesia, 2014). As a result,
e-Government in Indonesia has been developed progressively over the years. Indonesia
National Single Window, for example, is established. Indonesia Online Immigration Service
is introduced. An Online National Taxation system is recently developed (Sabani, 2019).
Despite the rapid development of e-Government in Indonesia, the adoption of
e-Government is still far from satisfactory (Deden et al., 2017). The slow adoption of e-
Government in Indonesia has been acknowledged by recent studies. Maslihatin (2016), for
example, finds that the average citizen satisfaction index of e-Government across the
country is very poor. Puspitasari and Ishii (2016) discover that a majority of e-Government
services in Indonesia is only accessible from computers, whereas mobile phones are the
preferred communication channel. Prahono and Elidjen (2015) show that there is only 15.6%
of e-Government services in Indonesia that are fully accessible and work properly. The
majority of these studies have focused on the technological and personal factors for the
adoption of e-Government. There are, however, other factors that may affect the adoption of
e-Government that need to be considered. In particular, it is unclear to what extent the
transparency factor can influence the adoption of e-Government from the perspective of
citizens in Indonesia. The current study addresses this shortcoming.
This study aims to investigate the critical factors for the adoption of e-Government in
Indonesia from the perspective of citizens. To fulfil this aim, a research model is developed
through a comprehensive review of the related literature. Such a model is tested and
validated using structured equation modelling (SEM) on the survey data collected from
citizens in Indonesia. This leads to the identification of the critical factors including
performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions and
transparency for the adoption of e-Government. This study has implications for both theory
building and management practice. From the theoretical perspective, the use of the unified
theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) model is extended by incorporating
the transparency factor that is vital to the adoption of e-Government in developing countries
such as Indonesia. In terms of managerial and policy implications, this research offers the
Indonesian Government and public organizations with relevant suggestions on how the
adoption of e-Government can be improved.

The adoption of e-Government in Indonesia

Indonesia is a Southeast Asian nation made up of thousands of volcanic islands and is one of
the biggest developing countries with over 270 million citizens (World Bank, 2020).
According to a recent study by Polling Indonesia conducted in cooperation with the
Indonesian Internet Providers Association, internet penetration in Indonesia has reached
over 63% of the total population in 2018 (APJII, 2018). Due to the dispersion of the
Indonesian population and the rapid development of technologies, the Indonesian
Government believes that e-Government is the most suitable platform to serve the large
numbers of citizens distributed in the archipelagic country (Republik Indonesia, 2014).
Figure 1 presents an overview of e-Government in Indonesia. The programme aims to
improve the efficiency, effectiveness and transparency of the delivery of public services by
 Influence of
transparency

Figure 1.
An overview of e-
Government
development in
Indonesia (author)

the implementation of various e-Government services (Obi and Naoko, 2016; Republik
Indonesia, 2014; Waseda University, 2018). It is supported by other development plans
including the development of human resources in the public organization, investments in
ICT infrastructure to distribute e-Government servers throughout the national broadband
network, improvements of public participation to develop citizen-oriented e-Government,
formulation of policies and institutional changes to further support the development of e-
Government. These plans are expected to create a supportive environment for the effective
development of e-Government in Indonesia.
The adoption of e-Government refers to the intention of citizens to engage in
e-Government for accessing public services (Mirchandani et al., 2008). There are numerous
challenges to the adoption of e-Government in Indonesia and other developing countries.
These challenges can be classified into four dimensions, namely, technology, organization,
citizen and environment. From the viewpoint of the technology dimension, it is shown that
ICT infrastructure in developing countries such as Indonesia is often centralized to
metropolitan cities, while regional areas remain underdeveloped (Chen et al., 2007; Deden
et al., 2017). Imbalanced distribution of ICT infrastructure creates digital divides that hinder
the adoption of e-Government (Sabani et al., 2019). Consequently, a national wide broadband
network is essential for providing citizens and businesses with access to e-Government
(Puspitasari and Ishii, 2016). Adequate ICT infrastructure such as computers, networks and
database systems are mandatory to support the development and the adoption of e-
Government. As a result, Indonesia has included ICT infrastructure developments as a part
of the national e-Government development plan (Antoni et al., 2019).
JSTPM There are many challenges to the adoption of e-Government from the perspective of the
organization dimension. For instance, a shortage of qualified human resources for supporting
the operations of e-Government services further adds to the challenges for the adoption of e-
Government (Chen et al., 2007). E-Government staff in Indonesia has inadequate opportunities
for e-Government training (Nurdin et al., 2012; Prahono and Elidjen, 2015). Furthermore, due to
the limited financial capacity and language barriers, it is difficult to outsource skilled human
resources from overseas (Furuholt and Wahid, 2008). Skills for developing e-Government
policies, evaluating the development of e-Government, managing e-Government projects,
negotiating with e-Government stakeholders are essential to support the development and the
adoption of e-Government (Elenezi et al., 2017). Indonesia has yet to address organizational
issues in the current e-Government development plan.
There are also various challenges to the adoption of e-Government from the citizen
dimension perspective. For example, lack of readiness among citizens to adopt e-
Government is common in developing countries such as Indonesia (Napitupulu et al., 2018).
Moreover, a lack of trust in e-Government is evident in Indonesia (Deden et al., 2017; Susanto
and Aljoza, 2015) and this leads to the low uptake of e-Government services (Deden et al.,
2017). Providing essential education and training for citizens are, therefore, crucial to
supporting the adoption of e-Government, which leads to the successful adoption of e-
Government.
The environment of developing countries such as Indonesia is challenging to the
adoption of e-Government. Indonesia is characterized as one of the emerging economies with
a volatile rate of economic growth and low standards of living (World Bank, 2018). Public
organizations in the country are often criticized for being inefficient, bureaucratic, less
transparent and afflicted with a high level of corruption (Chen et al., 2007; Kristiansen et al.,
2009; Prahono and Elidjen, 2015). Moreover, Indonesia has a very short history of
democracy. Developing e-Government in these conditions can be extremely difficult and
challenging. In contrast, implementing e-Government in developed countries is made easier
due to favourable antecedent conditions of being a developed economy with a stable rate of
growth, a high-quality standard of living, a high level of transparency and a long history of
democratic stability (Chen et al., 2007). Table 1 summarizes the challenges that obstruct the
adoption of e-Government in Indonesia.
While investment in technology and organization should yield significant success in the
adoption of e-Government, this should not be the primary objective. Rather governments
need to focus on building trust with citizens through digital engagement which focuses on
the day in the life of each citizen. This research focuses on the investigation of the critical
factors for the adoption of e-Government from the perspective of citizens. Such research is
valuable for measuring the adoption of e-Government in creating values for citizens, which
is the ultimate goal of e-Government development.

Transparency in e-Government adoption

There are various benefits of the adoption of e-Government. It improves the efficiency of public
organizations by cutting processing costs (Deng, 2008). E-Government provides citizens with a
convenient channel to communicate with public organizations (Deng et al., 2018). It encourages
the involvement of citizens in the government (Heeks and Bailur, 2007) while raising the
awareness of the public towards government programmes (Ahmed and Shirley, 2014). More
importantly, it improves the transparency of public decision-making (Bertot et al., 2010).
Transparency in e-Government refers to the availability of relevant information and
procedures to citizens through e-Government (Almukhlifi et al., 2019). It plays a critical role
in developing countries such as Indonesia for fighting corruption (Ionescu, 2013), promoting
Dimensions Challenges References

Technology Poor ICT infrastructure Ahmed and Shirley (2014), Idris (2016), Republik Indonesia
Infrastructure is centralized to capital (2014), United Nations (2018) and Waseda University (2018)
cities
Limited budget for infrastructure
upgrade
Organization Shortage of competent staff Deden et al. (2017), Mirchandani et al. (2008), Nurdin et al.
Lack of professional training (2012), Prananto and McKemmish (2007), Republik Indonesia
The government has limited capacity (2014), United Nations (2018) and Waseda University (2018)
to outsource competent staff for e-
Government
Citizen Low level of internet access Antoni et al. (2019), Mirchandani et al. (2008), Prananto and
Low level of ICT literacy McKemmish (2007), Pudjianto et al. (2011), Puspitasari and
Low participation in e-Government Ishii (2016), Republik Indonesia (2014), Susanto and Goodwin
Lack of trust in e-Government (2013), United Nations (2018) and Waseda University (2018)
Low level of trust in the online
programme
Low level of awareness towards
government initiatives
Environment Emerging economies Chen et al. (2007), Sabani et al. (2018), Kristiansen et al. (2009),
Large numbers of citizens distributed Prahono and Elidjen (2015), Republik Indonesia (2014), United
in the archipelagic country Nations (2018) and Waseda University (2018)
Low standard of living
Low level of transparency
High level of corruption

Table 1.
transparency

An overview of e-
Influence of

in Indonesia
adoption challenges
Government
JSTPM accountability of public organizations (Al-Hujran et al., 2015) and improving the trust of
citizens in government (Munyoka and Maharaj, 2019). The availability of public information
to citizens can improve the efficiency and effectiveness of public organizations (Deng et al.,
2018). It promotes the participation of citizens in public decision-making and encourages the
development of democracy (Lin et al., 2011). As a result, the transparency of public decision-
making has attracted much attention to e-Government adoption research.
In relation to developing countries, there are a few studies that have included the
transparency factor in the adoption of e-Government in the literature. Almukhlifi et al. (2019),
for example, apply the technology acceptance model (TAM) to investigate the moderation effect
of transparency on the adoption of e-Government in Saudi Arabia. Shahzad et al. (2019) extend
the uncertainty reduction theory (URT) for analyzing the significance of transparency in the
adoption of the mobile government in Pakistan. Mirchandani et al. (2018) adopt the information
systems success model to evaluate the role of transparency in improving the use of e-
Government in Kuwait. Al-Jamal and Abu-Shanab (2016) develop a research model to
investigate the influence of transparency in the adoption of e-Government websites in Jordan.
Venkatesh et al. (2016) apply the URT for examining the significance of transparency in e-
Government adoption in Hong Kong. Table 2 presents a summary of these studies.
Although these studies have proposed different models for evaluating the significance of
the transparency in the adoption of e-Government under various circumstances, there is still
an increasing demand for better understanding the significance of the transparency factor in
the adoption of e-Government (Almukhlifi et al., 2019; Venkatesh et al., 2016). Furthermore,
there is a lack of empirical evidence for the generalizability of the research findings. This
leads to the development of a new model for investigating the transparency factor in the
adoption of e-Government from the perspective of citizens in Indonesia.

Research model
The purpose of this study is to investigate the critical factors for the adoption of e-Government
in Indonesia from the perspective of citizens. For this purpose, the UTAUT model is adopted

References Theories/models Methodology Critical factors

Almukhlifi et al. (2019) TAM Survey Perceived usefulness, perceived ease of

use, computer self-efficacy and
transparency
Shahzad et al. (2019) URT Survey Awareness, perceived compatibility,
perceived usefulness, availability of
resources, accuracy, completeness,
transparency, trust, convenience,
personalization and perceived response
time
Mirchandani et al. (2018) TAM Survey Government efficiency, financial
transaction, requests and records, local
information, transparency, feedback,
Table 2. government resources, quality, appeal,
control and savings and
A summary of
personalization
e-Government Al-Jamal and Abu-Shanab Not specified Survey Transparency, participation and
adoption studies with (2016) collaboration
the inclusion of the Venkatesh et al. (2016) URT Survey Accuracy, completeness, transparency,
transparency factor trust, convenience and personalization
due to the fact that the UTAUT is found to be the most prominent model to investigate the Influence of
adoption of e-Government under various perspectives (Dwivedi et al., 2017). With the transparency
application of the UTAUT, four relevant constructs, including performance expectancy, effort
expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions are identified. In addition, from the review
of related literature, transparency is adopted to measure the adoption of e-Government in
Indonesia. The research model is illustrated in Figure 2.
Performance expectancy is about the degree to which an individual believes that
adopting e-Government would attain better performance. This construct is believed to
influence the adoption of e-Government (Kurfalı et al., 2017). It is measured by process
clarity, time efficiency and cost-efficiency. Process clarity measures if the process of
obtaining information and services from e-Government is easily understood. Time efficiency
measures if the process of obtaining information and services from e-Government is done
faster than the paper-based approach. Cost efficiency measures if the process of obtaining
information and services from e-Government is less expensive than the paper-based
approach. The following hypothesis is proposed in the research model:

H1. Performance expectancy has a positive effect on the adoption of e-Government.

Effort expectancy is referred to as the degree of ease in adopting e-Government. It is
often measured by the degree to which citizens believe that adopting a new system such
as e-Government would be free of effort This construct is believed to positively
influence the adoption of e-Government (Kirui et al., 2016). It plays a significant role
especially in the early stage of e-Government adoption as humans by their nature often
hesitate to adopt a new system (Puspitasari and Ishii, 2016). The adoption of e-
Government is found to be improved when the learnability is enhanced (Susanto and
Goodwin, 2013). The following hypothesis is proposed in the research model:

H2. Effort expectancy has a positive effect on the adoption of e-Government.

Social influence is the external factor that influences an individual’s decision to adopt e-
Government. It is defined as compression by a person’s proximity to take certain actions or
adopt certain values (Venkatesh et al., 2003). It is recognized to influence the adoption of e-
Government (Voutinioti, 2013). The influence of family, friends and co-workers has some
impact on an individual’s intention to adopt a socially acceptable system such as e-

Figure 2.
Research model
JSTPM Government (Rana et al., 2017). These pressures encourage the individual to recognize the
advantage of innovation and embrace the need to adopt e-Government. The following
hypothesis is proposed in the research model:

H3. Social Influence has a positive effect on the adoption of e-Government.

Facilitating conditions are defined to the degree to which an individual believes that
infrastructure exists to support the adoption of e-Government. This construct refers to the
quality of being able to reach e-Government services with supportive infrastructure (Idris,
2016). This includes the ability to access e-Government from multiple devices, including
personal computers and mobile phones and public places such as public libraries and
government offices. Facilitating conditions need to be maintained throughout the adoption
process (Mirchandani et al., 2008). The analysis of this construct would help to dissect the
preference of citizens in accessing e-Government. The following hypothesis is proposed in
the research model:

H4. Facilitating conditions have a positive effect on the adoption of e-Government.

Transparency refers to the availability of relevant information and procedures to citizens
through e-Government (Almukhlifi et al., 2019). It is measured through the availability of
clear information in e-Government including the information to government budgets and
expenditures, the operational guidelines of using e-Government and the timely release of
information about policies, laws and regulations. It is also measured through to capability of
citizens to be involved in public decision-making through the use of e-Government.
Improving transparency through the use of e-Government has become the primary focus of
the Indonesian government in diminishing corruption (Republik Indonesia, 2014). The
following hypothesis is proposed in the research model:

H5. Transparency has a positive effect on the adoption of e-Government.

Research methodology
The data collection was conducted in Indonesia between June 2018 and December 2018. The
survey was distributed through posting the online version of the survey instrument using
the Qualtrics system on social media sites including Facebook, LinkedIn and Whatsapp. An
online survey questionnaire was preferred because it enables a geographical distribution in
the most cost and time-efficient way. The probability sampling technique is used in this
study for selecting the research sample of Indonesian citizens over 18 years old. Personal
information, including name and location, is not collected to preserve the privacy of research
participants. As participants fill the survey on their own knowing that their answer cannot
be traced back to them, the online questionnaire ensures that any kind of bias is minimal.
For the purpose of this research, approximately 1,500 online survey questionnaires were
distributed. From this, 314 people responded to the survey. The response rate of the survey
is at 20.9%. Such a response rate is in line with previous studies (Kurfalı et al., 2017;
Mirchandani et al., 2008) that suggest the response rate for e-Government research is
normally less than 50%. The reasons for non-response are usually varied from respondents’
lack of interest in the research topic, low uptake of e-Government, respondents’ level of
education or some other social and economic factors. The closed-ended questionnaire has
two sections including the demographic questions of respondents and questions for
assessing the critical factors for the adoption of e-Government in Indonesia. The results are
analysed using IBM SPSS 26 and IBM AMOS 25.
 The demographic statistics of the survey are analysed across the participants’ Influence of
geographical distribution, age group, educational level and employment type. Table 3 transparency
presents a summary of the demographic data. In relation to the age group, 6% of
respondents are within the range of 18–20 years, the majority of 60% in the 21–30 years
range, 27% are in the 31–45 range, 6.3% are in 46–60 years range and only 0.7% are over
60 years old. In terms of gender distribution, 64.2% are male, 34.4% are female. Regarding
the frequency of using e-Government, 14% are using e-Government every month, 20% once
in three months, the majority of 27.4% are using e-Government once in six months, 26.3%
are using once in a year, 8.8% are using less than once in a year and 3.5% have not adopted
e-Government at all.
The level of education of respondents is also examined. Three-quarters of respondents
have a university degree, including 61.4% hold undergraduate degrees, 13.33% have master
qualifications and 2.46% hold a doctorate. In addition, 9.12% of the respondents have
diploma certificates, 11.93% finish high school and 1.4% finish junior high school. There is
only 0.35% have no formal education. In relation to the occupation of the respondents, a
majority of the respondents that is at 46.3% comes from the private sector, 17.2% are self-
employed and 12.6% work in the public sector. Additionally, 14.4% are students, 4.9% are
unemployed and 1.1% are retired. As shown in Table 3, the respondents are diverse from
multiple age groups, genders, education and occupation. In addition, there is also a variety
in the frequency of using e-Government, which leads to diversity in the level of knowledge
and experience in the adoption of e-Government. The sample for this research is, therefore,
adequately representative of the whole population.
This study uses SEM to analyses the quantitative data for investigating the critical
factors for the adoption of e-Government in developing countries. The rationale of using
SEM in this research is due to:

Distributions Distributions
Categories Items (%) Categories Items (%)

Age group 18–20 6.00 Education No Formal School 0.35

21–30 60.00 Primary School 0.00
31–45 27.00 Junior High School 1.40
46–60 6.30 Senior High School 11.93
60 and older 0.70 Diploma 9.12
Total 100.00 Bachelor Degree 61.40
Gender Male 64.20 Master Degree 13.33
Female 34.40 Doctorate Degree 2.46
Prefer not to be 1.40 Total 100.00
included
Total 100.00 Occupation Student 14.40
Frequency of using Very often (once in a 14.00 Government 12.60
E-Government month) employee
Often (once in 3 20.00 Private sector 46.30
months) employee
Sometimes (once in 6 27.40 Self-employed 17.20
months)
Rarely (once in a 26.30 Unemployed 4.90
year) Table 3.
Very rarely (less 8.80 Retired 1.10 Demographic of the
than once in a year) survey participants
JSTPM
its potential ability in extending the theory;

its ability to simultaneously test several interrelated relationships among the
constructs to validate the research model; and

its capability to contain latent variables in expressing the abstract concepts while taking
into account the measurement error in a given study (Hair et al., 2018; Kline, 2010).

SEM analysis demands the data set to be complete without any missing values (Byrne, 2016). In
addition, it requires that the data set to be normally distributed (Hair et al., 2018). This includes
appropriately handling the presence of outliers, kurtosis and skews in the data set (Byrne, 2016).
This research, therefore, conducts several assessments to normalize the data set. As a result, 48
cases are deleted in the missing data assessment, 4 cases are removed in the assessment of
univariate outlier and 18 cases are deleted in the assessment of multivariate outlier, leading to a
total of 244 valid cases to be further analysed using the SEM technique.
The SEM analysis starts with developing and specifying the full measurement model
using AMOS. Based on the research model hypothesized in Figure 2, measurement variables
and indicators for the survey is developed. The full measurement model is illustrated in the
following Figure 3.
The latent factors including the performance expectancy (PEXPE), effort expectancy
(EEXPE), social influence (SINFL), facilitating conditions (FCOND), transparency (TRANS) and
adoption (ADOPT) are depicted in the full measurement model with a total of 25 items. Table 4
summarizes indicators and definitions of the constructs within the proposed research model.

Data analysis
Goodness of fit test
Based on the goodness of fit (GOF) test from the confirmatory analysis of each factor
generated by AMOS, the validity of the full measurement model is assessed. Modifications
are carried out based on a comparison between the GOF of each factor from the
confirmatory analysis and the recommended GOF standard values (Byrne, 2016; Deng et al.,
2018) as shown in Table 5. As a result of these modifications, two items from EEXPE and
one item from TRANS are deleted.

Reliability and validity assessments

Reliability and validity assessments are carried out to assess the stability of the measurement
instrument. Cronbach’s alpha (a) is a potent tool for inspecting whether all items measure the
same thing. Cronbach’s a value needs to be greater than 0.70 for the item to be acceptable (Hair
et al., 2018). To further assess the validity, the convergent validity of the construct should be
considered by examining the average variance extracted (AVE) value for each latent construct.
The AVE values of each construct need to be greater than 0.5 to be acceptable and adequate for
convergent validity (Fornell and Larcker, 1981). Additionally, composite reliability (CR)
assessment is carried out to have a better reliability valuation for the constructs. Furthermore, an
examination of internal consistency for retained items resulting from the exploratory factor
analysis in Table 6 is required to ensure their reliability. Table 6 presents a summary of
exploratory factor analysis with Cronbach’s a, AVE and CR of constructs.
From Table 6, all the factors are shown to reach the appropriate threshold AVE value of 0.5,
Cronbach’s a and CR of 0.7, indicating the adequate reliability of the constructs. Discriminant
validity refers to the extent to which a latent construct is truly distinct from other latent
constructs both in terms of how much it correlates with other latent constructs and how distinctly
measured variables represent only this single construct (Hair et al., 2018). It is often measured by
 Influence of
transparency

Figure 3.
Full measurement
model

comparing the square root of the AVE for each construct against the inter-construct correlation
estimates (Fornell and Larcker, 1981). The results in Table 7 show that the square root of the
AVE of each construct is higher than its correlation with other constructs. This shows that all the
one-factor congeneric models have achieved sufficient discriminant validity.

Structural model analysis

The structural model illustrates the path between the theoretical constructs in a given state.
It analyses how every single construct is related to another. The structural model is
examined after the validity of the full measurement model is confirmed. The path coefficient
shows the strength, nature and significance of each relationship between constructs.
Furthermore, it also shows the significance of the relationship shows whether the
hypotheses of the research are accepted or rejected (Hair et al., 2018).
The structural model is analysed in this study using various statistics such as the
standardized regression weight (SRW), standard error (SE), the critical ratio (CR) and the p-
value (Byrne, 2010). The significance of each hypothesis is tested with the calculation of CR
 Table 4.
research model
constructs in the
A summary of the
Constructs Indicators
Performance Cost efficiency
expectancy
Communication clarity
Process clarity
Time efficiency
Effort Learnability
expectancy System navigation
System usability
User-friendliness
User intuitiveness
Social influence Social adoption
Social encouragement
Social opinion
Social perception
Facilitating Access easiness
conditions
Availability of ICT devices
Availability of internet
Community access points
Multiple platforms access
JSTPM
Descriptions References
The process of obtaining information and services from Dwivedi et al. (2017), Venkatesh
e-Government is less expensive than the traditional approach et al. (2003), Weerakkody et al.
The use of e-Government makes it easier for the citizens to (2015) and Williams et al. (2015)
communicate with employees of public organizations
The process of obtaining information and services from
e-Government is easily understood
The process of obtaining information and services from
e-Government is done faster than the traditional approach
The quality of e-Government systems being easy to learn Puspitasari and Ishii (2016),
The quality of e-Government systems being easy to navigate Susanto and Goodwin (2013),
The quality of e-Government systems being easy to use Venkatesh et al. (2003) and
The quality of e-Government systems being easy to Williams et al. (2015)
understand
The quality of e-Government systems being self-explanatory
The level of e-Government adoption from individuals’ Rana et al. (2017), Kurfalı et al.
community (2017), Shareef et al. (2011),
The level of encouragement from individuals’ community to Venkatesh et al. (2003) and
adopt e-Government Williams et al. (2015)
The feedback from individuals’ community about the
adoption of e-Government
The degree to which individuals perceive the importance of
others’ perceptions of the decision to adopt e-Government
The quality of being easy to access e-Government services Dwivedi et al. (2017), Puspitasari
and information and Ishii (2016), Venkatesh et al.
The level of effort that the individual must take to access ICT (2003) and Williams et al. (2015)
devices
The level of effort that the individual must take to access the
internet
The ability to access e-Government from public places
The ability to access e-Government from multiple devices (e.
g. personal computers and mobile phones)
(continued)
Constructs Indicators Descriptions References

Transparency Corruption eradication The degree to which individuals perceive the adoption of Almukhlifi et al. (2018), Ionescu
e-Government would suppress corruptions (2013), Kim et al. (2009), Prahono
Information transparency The availability of information in e-Government, including and Elidjen (2015), Venkatesh et al.
the contact information of public officials, the information on (2016)
government budgets and expenditures and the operational
guidelines of e-Government
Process transparency The availability of clear procedures in using e-Government
Public participation The capability of citizens to be involved in public decision-
making through the use of e-Government

Table 4.
transparency
Influence of
JSTPM GOF index CFI vAGFI
and accepted x 2/ RMSEA close close to SRMR
value df < 2.5 p > 0.1 < 0.1 to 0.95 0.95 < 0.9

FCOND IN 1.770 0.115 0.056 0.994 0.958 0.017

ADOPT IN 0.335 0.563 0.000 1.000 0.994 0.007
SINFL IN 2.190 0.112 0.070 0.993 0.955 0.021
PEXPE IN 1.490 0.225 0.045 0.996 0.970 0.018
TRANS IN 3.852 0.022 0.108 0.986 0.928 0.023
RE 0.135 0.713 0.000 1.000 0.998 0.004
EEXPE IN 2.840 0.014 0.087 0.988 0.931 0.208
RE 0.295 0.587 0.000 1.000 0.995 0.004

Notes: Initial (IN), re-specified (RE), chi-square/degree of freedom ( x 2/df), Bollen-Stine probability (p), root
Table 5. mean square error of approximation (RMSEA), comparative fit index (CFI), adjusted goodness of fit index
GOF results (AGFI), standardized root mean residual (SRMR)

Item FCOND ADOPT SINFL PEXPE TRANS EEXPE a AVE CR Strength

FCOND1 0.859 0.9 0.7 0.92 Excellent

FCOND2 0.836
FCOND3 0.868
FCOND4 0.799
FCOND5 0.827
ADOPT1 0.839 0.78 0.69 0.87 Accepted
ADOPT2 0.849
ADOPT3 0.809
SINFL1 0.826 0.82 0.65 0.88 Good
SINFL2 0.815
SINFL3 0.817
SINFL4 0.754
PEXPE1 0.786 0.79 0.62 0.87 Accepted
PEXPE2 0.728
PEXPE3 0.83
PEXPE4 0.793
TRANS1 0.869 0.81 0.73 0.89 Good
TRANS2 0.848
TRANS3 0.843
Table 6. EEXPE1 0.906 0.87 0.8 0.92 Good
Exploratory factor EEXPE2 0.886
analysis EEXPE3 0.89

by dividing the un-standardized regression weight (URW) by its standard error (SE) (Byrne,
2010). The CR value is statistically significant when it is out of the range of 1.96 and þ1.96
and the p-value is less than 0.05 (Byrne, 2010). Table 7 presents the results of the structural
model analysis. In hypothesis testing, the important test statistic is CR.
Hypotheses testing through covariance-based SEM from AMOS as shown in Table 8
indicates that all hypotheses are accepted.
The path analysis with respect to the influence of PEXPE, EEXPE, SINFL, FCOND and
TRANS to ADOPT is assessed. The results indicate that H1, H2, H3, H4 and H5 are
supported. PEXPE has a significant positive influence on ADOPT (CR = 6.353, P < 0.001),
supporting H1. EEXPE has a significant effect on ADOPT (CR = 4.313, P < 0.001),
supporting H2. SINFL has a significant positive influence on ADOPT (CR = 2.743, p < Influence of
0.006), supporting H3. FCOND has a significant positive influence on ADOPT (CR = 4.276, transparency
p < 0.001), supporting H4. Furthermore, TRANS has the most significant positive influence
on ADOPT (CR = 6.629, p < 0.001), supporting H5.

Discussion
This study makes a contribution to the existing literature on e-Government by developing a new
model for improving the adoption of e-Government. The study demonstrates how a contextual
factor such as transparency can contribute to better understanding the adoption of e-Government
from the perspective of citizens. The model answers the call for considering the influence of the
context in which e-Government is developed to better understand the adoption of e-Government
(Shareef et al., 2016; Venkatesh et al., 2016; Wirtz and Daiser, 2016). The model would be of great use
in better understanding the adoption of e-Government in other developing countries where lack of
transparency is common in the society.
The current UTAUT-based e-Government models focus primarily on the factors related
to individuals and system characteristics. This study extends the UTAUT for a better
understanding of the adoption of e-Government by investigating the role of transparency in
improving the adoption of e-Government. This study demonstrates the applicability of the
extended model in exploring the adoption of e-Government with empirical evidence in the
context of developing countries.
From a practical perspective, this study provides valuable research findings for different
stakeholders of e-Government in Indonesia including public organizations, e-Government
designers and developers to improve the delivery of public services. The research findings
demonstrate the practical importance of how a lack of transparency in Indonesia affects the
adoption of e-Government. Public organizations in Indonesia could take appropriate actions
in advance to ensure the effective development of e-Government to improve the delivery of
public services. By successfully understanding the most appropriate public information that

Construct FCOND ADOPT SINFL PEXPE TRANS EEXPE

FCOND 0.838
ADOPT 0.801 0.832
SINFL 0.639 0.641 0.803
PEXPE 0.763 0.769 0.553 0.785
TRANS 0.832 0.797 0.615 0.738 0.853 Table 7.
EEXPE 0.826 0.736 0.659 0.706 0.753 0.894 Discriminant validity

H Path SRW SE CR p Result

1 PEXPE ! ADOPT 0.659 0.063 6.353 * Supported

2 EEXPE ! ADOPT 0.317 0.033 4.313 * Supported
3 SINFL ! ADOPT 0.202 0.037 2.743 0.006 Supported
4 FCOND ! ADOPT 0.324 0.043 4.276 * Supported
5 TRANS ! ADOPT 0.602 0.05 6.629 * Supported

Notes: Hypothesis (H), standardized regression weight (SRW), standard error (SE), critical ratio (CR). *p < Table 8.
0.001 Hypotheses testing
JSTPM needs to be transparent, public organizations in Indonesia can ensure the delivery of the
benefits of e-Government adoption to citizens.

Conclusion
This paper presents an extended UTAUT model by incorporating transparency for
investigating the critical factors for the adoption of e-Government from the perspective of
citizens in Indonesia. The model is tested and validated using survey data collected in
Indonesia by using SEM. The findings reveal that all constructs including performance
expectancy, effort, expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions and transparency are
the critical factors for evaluating the adoption of e-Government from the perspective of
citizens in Indonesia.
Although several findings echoed similar results to previous studies, this study
emphasizes new findings on the role of transparency and its influence on the decision of
citizens to adopt e-Government which has not fully examined in the current literature. It
suggests that transparency is the strongest factor that significantly influences the decision
of citizens to adopt e-Government services. Improving the transparency of public decision-
making through e-Government can help citizens to better understand the benefits of using e-
Government. Citizens can obtain government-related information such as budgets, laws,
policies, public service procedures, rules, tenders and staff contact information in a quick,
convenient and effective manner by adopting e-Government. Such findings suggest that
public organizations should promote the transparency of public decision-making for
improving the adoption of e-Government. The implementation of these findings can lead to
the formulation of better strategies and policies for the continuous development of e-
Government in Indonesia.
This study also makes several contributions and has implications for theory building
and management practice. From the theoretical perspective, this paper presents a model for
examining the adoption of e-Government from the perspective of Indonesian citizens. The
UTAUT model is extended by incorporating the transparency that is prominent to
investigate the adoption of e-Government in developing countries such as Indonesia. In
terms of managerial and policy implications, findings from this research offer the
government and public organizations in Indonesia relevant suggestions on how the
adoption of e-Government can be improved.
There are some limitations in this study that can be addressed in the future. Firstly, this
research only considers the perception of citizens. It has not covered the opinions of other
stakeholders. Secondly, the results of this research have been validated in Indonesia.
Replicating this research in different countries could yield the generalizability of the study
findings. Thirdly, other factors including moderators could be incorporated in the research
model to further understand the role of transparency in improving the adoption of e-
Government.

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Further reading
Chun, S.A., Luna-Reyes, L.F., Sandoval-Almazan, R., Bertot, J.C., Jaeger, P.T. and Grimes, J.M. (2012),
“Promoting transparency and accountability through icts”, Social Media, and Collaborative E-
Government, Vol. 6 No. 1, pp. 78-91.

Corresponding author
Alvedi Sabani can be contacted at: alvedi.sabani@rmit.edu.au and alvedisabani@gmail.com

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