Article

E-Government Services Adoption in Uzbekistan: An Empirical Validation of Extended Version of the Unified Model of Electronic Government Acceptance (UMEGA)

Shokhrukh Avazov1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2158-0430, Seohyun Lee2,*https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3240-8126
Author Information & Copyright
1Webster University; The Global Green Growth Institute; Department of Public Administration, Yonsei University Graduate School (Mirae), shokhrukh.avazov@yonsei.ac.kr
2Department of Global Public Administration, Yonsei University Mirae Campus Jeongui Hall # 415, Wonju 26493, Gangwon-do, Republic of Korea, leeesh@yonsei.ac.kr
*Corresponding author: Department of Global Public Administration, Yonsei University Mirae Campus Jeongui Hall # 415, Wonju 26493, Gangwon-do, Republic of Korea, leeesh@yonsei.ac.kr

ⓒ Copyright 2022 Graduate School of Public Administration, Seoul National University. This is an Open-Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Received: Feb 05, 2022; Accepted: Jul 21, 2022

Published Online: Sep 30, 2022

Abstract

E-government is recognized as one of the top priorities among many countries and Uzbekistan is one such country that embarked on e-government implementation. Although a growing body of literature focused on the acceptance of e-government from the citizens’ perspective in different countries, little is known about the Uzbek citizens’ perceptions. In this context, this study aimed to investigate the underlying factors for citizens’ intention to use e-government services called Single Portal of Interactive Public Services (SPIPS) in Uzbekistan. To that end, a theoretical model known as the Unified Model of E-government Adoption (UMEGA) was extended and employed. A survey was conducted for 390 Uzbek citizens to measure six constructs from UMEGA and two additional components, service quality and trust. Results from structural equation model showed that performance expectancy (β=0.680, p < 0.001) and trust (β=0.548, p < 0.001) had the greatest influence on intention to use e-government. These findings suggest policy recommendations for successful diffusion of e-government services in other developing countries and Central Asian countries including Uzbekistan.

Keywords: E-Government; UMEGA; Single Portal of Interactive Public Services; Uzbekistan