Cayetano Medina Molina

A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Electronic Government Adoption in Spain and the USA

Electronic Government (e-government) is growing in popularity across the globe. Given the increasing relevance of electronic services in the public sector, there is a need for a global agreement on a consistent framework for assessing e-government. This study uses a cross-cultural comparison to assess the fundamentals of e-government adoption in the United States (USA) and Spain. In particular, the authors explore the effects of perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, compatibility and trust on intentions to use e-government services. A survey was administered to citizens in both countries to test the hypotheses derived from adoption literature and Hofstedes dimensions of culture. Results indicate that there are differences in the relationship between compatibility and use intention, with stronger effects in the USA sample. Furthermore, while perceived ease of use significantly impacts intentions for the USA sample, it does not for the Spain sample; and, while trust is not significant in the USA sample, it is for the Spain sample. The implications of these results, mostly consistent with the hypotheses as suggested by the dimensions of culture, are discussed for both research and practice.

Previous beliefs and continuance intention

This work analyses the role of previous beliefs and attitudes on the intention to continue using online platforms. Although the literature has ignored the role of those variables in determining the continuance usage, this work makes use of the mediated relationships to verify its relevance. The conclusion is that, although previous attitudes do not have an impact on the continuance usage, the previous beliefs about the effort expectation, the perceived usefulness and trust do have an impact on the continuance intention to use an e-learning platform.

Gender and E-Government Adoption in Spain

Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Diffusion of Innovations (DOI) models, which include trust as a central factor, are currently standard tools for studying the process of new technology acceptance, but some further research is needed to gauge how different variables could influence this process. This is the case of gender factor, given that there is no general accord in the literature as to the role of this variable. Thus, the present research focuses on hypothetical gender-based differences that could affect the explanatory model for e-Government adoption by citizens. The results of the study show that the effects of gender on e-Government involvement are nearly none—probably because these technology-based activities are quite broadly implemented in Spain by now. This in turn implies both, that in Spain e-Government usage level is similar between genders and that the behavior explaining model is virtually the same, with no gender traits acting on it -apart from a slightly particular role played by compatibility in the female case.

Generating satisfaction towards e-learning platforms

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine how satisfaction is generated towards e-learning platforms. Design/methodology/approach – This work aims to analyse the differences in the functioning of the model that explains how satisfaction is generated among users of e-learning platforms if expectations are measured before entering into contact with the service or afterwards. The statistical analysis was completed by developing a structural equation model using the SmartPLS 2.0.M3. Findings – The results show that, if the expectations are measured before entering into contact with the good or service, disconfirmation plays a major role in the model. If the expectations are measured after entering into contact with the good or service, the main role is played by expectations in the model. Of the variables included, perceived usefulness and effort expectancy affect satisfaction, not thus enabling conditions and social influence. Originality/value – The authors study the difference between the results o...

Social Network Sites and e-Learning Adoption

The use of social network sites (SNSs), and the improvements gained from new technologies through e-learning platforms are two of the main topics that are currently discussed in the area of higher education. Both issues converge if what is being considered is the hypothetical effect that SNS use can have on e-learning adoption. Given the fact that there is no general consensus at this point, the present work addresses the moderating role that SNS use could potentially have on e-learning adoption. Our findings suggest that SNS use has a moderating effect on the relationship between the intention to use the platform and its posited antecedents. Furthermore, among these three antecedents only effort expectancy and social influence have a significant effect on the intention to use an e-learning platform.

Cognitive) mobilization and political blogs

The literature has suggested many ways in which developing user commitment can benefit political bloggers. Existing models are based on generating attachment, satisfaction, and trust, but it is worth considering whether the relationships between these factors remain unchanged regardless of the other media used by blog visitors. In other words, our aim is to determine whether the fact that a blog visitor who reads print media and watches TV has a strong impact on developing commitment as it does on voting intention, both for the blogger and for the party he/she belongs to. The results we have obtained, in keeping with mobilization theory, suggest that access to the media leads to political mobilization rather than to the negative effects suggested by cognitive mobilization theory, or what is referred to as “video malaise”. To be more specific, access to TV enhances the development of commitment, whereas reading print media leads to that commitment having a greater impact on attitudinal and behavioral variables.