Technology knowledge and governance: Empowering citizen engagement and participation

The term technology knowledge (T-knowledge) is used to describe knowledge about and the ability to operate specific technologies such as the Internet. T-knowledge also includes the ability required to operate particular technologies. T-knowledge can potentially improve engagement by helping the user to make his/her personal decision in an increasing range of domains. The main purpose of this paper is to investigate the extent to which an extended Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) facilitates tknowledge in e-government services offered by City Halls. We also investigate whether t-knowledge has an effect on citizen engagement in government initiatives. In this research, an extended TAM is developed to test t-knowledge in online e-government services employing a sample of 307 citizens who used the benefits advisor tool provided by a Spanish City Hall. The results suggest that the core constructs of TAM (perceived usefulness, ease of use and attitude) significantly affect t-knowledge. This study also reveals a general support for t-knowledge as a determinant of citizen engagement.