Using social media to increase e-government adoption in developing countries

Abstract

E-government can be a useful tool for governments to improve relationships with their citizens. However, citizen trust in government and the Internet technology is necessary for broad adoption of e-government. Using a survey, this study examines the trust level of digital natives in Nepal in their government and the Internet technology in general. The trust level in government comprises both relational trust and institutional trust and the relational trust is subdivided into three aspects: competency, benevolence, and integrity. This study also investigates respondents Internet and social media usage behavior and their likelihood to adopt e-government if social media is used in government-citizen communication. Results show that respondents have a low level of competence and benevolence trust in Nepalese government whereas their level of integrity and institutional trust in government was extremely low. Although respondents generally used the Internet and social media more than four hours a day, most have not used or seldom used e-government websites. Respondents' positive attitude towards government's presence on social networking websites provides an excellent opportunity for Nepalese government to harness the potential of social media. To supplement the views of digital natives, two business website owners and two government officials in Nepal were also interviewed. Interviewees were positive of the benefits the Nepalese government could gain by being presence on social media, especially in terms of promoting transparency. Some also suggested that Nepalese government needs to consider developing e-government applications in local language.