2.1 E‐Government in Saudi Arabia
Mohammed Alsaif
Saudi Arabia is one of the developing countries which attempt to respond to these innovative technological advances by the implementing of e‐Government program in 2005. This milestone was supported by a clear vision and a strategic plan, top management support and the highest investment on the ICT field among the region. The country has spent about 7.2 billion dollars in 2010 and it forecasts to reach 46.3 billion SR( 12.3 billion dollars) in 2015 as the fastest growing country in the region concerning ICT spending( CITC, 2010). Moreover, the demographic characteristics of the youth population and advance level of education are more likely to foster the adoption of e‐Government in Saudi Arabia. In addition, the compatibility of e‐Government with gender segregation in Saudi Arabia and drive banding for female as well as hot clime may consider as a catalyst to e‐Government ' adoption among Saudi citizens. Despite the economic prosperity of Saudi Arabia and the greatest growth of the ICT market in the region, the country is suffering from a low level of e‐ Government ' s citizen ' s adoption( Al‐Shehry, 2006).
In contrast, other factors may impede the adoption of e‐Government in Saudi Arabia which are insecure infrastructure, lack of awareness and insufficient IT skills among the users, lack of policy and judiciary requirements and finally the soft social and cultural barriers( Al‐Shehry, 2006). Any technology innovation needs special consideration when it applies to religious and conservative society such as Saudi Arabia committee where religion reflects in every aspect of life and resists any alien which might affect religion adherence. The culture of the society is religious in nature and Islam play a vital role in determine the social norm, traditions, pattern, obligations, privilege and practice of the community. This is because Islam is not just religious ideology but a comprehensive system which embraces all aspects of Muslims life as theology, law and way of life( ALSaggaf, 2004). Furthermore, Hofstede( 2001, p. 24) argues that“ culture is the collective programming of the human mind that distinguishes the members of one human group from those of another, culture in this sense, is a system of collectively held values”. Hofstede suggested that there were five dimensions that could be used to define the concept of national culture: Masculinity / Femininity, Collectivism / Individualism, Power distance, Long‐term orientation, and Uncertainty avoidance.
The unequal distribution of power or hierarchy is defined as power distance index( PDI), so that when countries are described as high power distance, they are often highly dependent on their leaders, have lower openness for new ideas, demonstrate individual decision making and use a centralised management style, which prevents the adoption of new innovations( Erumban and Jong, 2007). Saudi Arabia has a considerably high power distance value( 80)( Hofstede, 2001), but this high PDI value could encourage these individual citizens to use new technology by proving its value to others.
Uncertainty avoidance index( UAI) is defined by Hofstede( 2001, p. 83) as“ the degree to which members of a society feel uncomfortable with uncertainty and ambiguity.” According to Arslan( 2009), uncertainty avoidance is demonstrated when e‐Government requires trust for virtual transactions or when users are uncertain about applications, so that new or unstructured situations cause people to feel uncomfortable, which affects their adoption of new technology. The UAI score for Saudi Arabia was high in comparison with other countries( 68)( Hofstede, 2001). The literature explains that within Arab society, face‐to‐face interaction is preferred, which supports this UAI score.
The degree to which individuals relate to other groups and how they integrate within society is measured by the individualism( IDV) index. Therefore, societies described as collectivist are strongly influenced by the ideas and norms of their society, which contrasts with societies described as individualist, where individual citizens are more likely to make their own decisions and choices( Erumban and Jong, 2007). This is demonstrated in societies with high IDV scores, where citizens adopt new technology more readily and express their views more easily, but in collectivist societies, new technology often conflicts with the norms and values of society. The individualism index score for Saudi Arabia is relatively low when compared with other countries across the world( 38)( Hofstede, 2001), and Saudi society demonstrates interdependence and a cohesive network.
Hofstede( 2001) defined masculine values as including competition, success, performance and assertiveness, and feminine values as including solidarity, caring, service, maintenance of warm personal relationships and quality of life. This index attempted to separate emotional roles of the two genders, so that masculinity would encourage rewards for individuals that give them recognition and enhance personal development and training, and suggests that innovation adoption would be emphasised( Erumban and Jong, 2007; Arslan, 2009). Saudi
580