Adoption of Municipal e-Government Services - A Communication Problem?

Although, e-government offers citizens various advantages, the usage rates still lag behind their potentials. Many studies have analysed factors influencing the e-government adoption, however, neglecting the aspect of communication as one crucial antecedent for intention to use. This study tries to close this gap by investigating the role of communication in the acceptance of e-government. We conducted a survey with 103 citizens in a medium-sized municipality. Results reveal that both user and non-users of e-government services would like governments to provide more information especially on the existence of services, the benefits as well as privacy and data security. We found strong support for users having used egovernment services once to be very likely to use them again. We encourage governments to adjust their communication strategy to citizens’ needs and provide further information on e-government especially via the governments’ website.