Determinants of citizens' intention to engage in government-led electronic participation initiatives through Facebook

Abstract

The research work on understanding whether citizens will readily accept to engage with governments in e-participation initiatives through social media remains limited. Therefore, this study investigates the factors that are influencing citizens´ intention to engage in government-led e-Participation initiatives through Facebook. To that end, the study proposes and validates a citizen-centric acceptance model. The proposed model extends the model primarily established on the theory of planned behavior, by incorporating additional factors that emerged from relevant literature. The research data were collected from a survey of 400 Facebook users in Jordan using a probability sample technique. The results revealed that the factors with the most significant influence on citizens´ intention to engage in government-led e-participation initiatives through Facebook are: the citizens´ attitude, participation efficacy, and perceived behavior control. Subjective norms and perceived value, however, have no direct effect on citizens´ intention to engage in government-led e-participation initiatives through Facebook. Furthermore, the results showed that the citizens´ attitude is primarily determined by participation efficacy, perceived usefulness and compatibility of Facebook, and perceived value. In contrast, the factors perceived ease of use of Facebook, citizens´ trust in government, and citizens´ trust in Facebook, have no significant impact on citizens´ attitude. These factors have rarely been empirically tested in the context of e-participation. Consequently, this study paves the way towards a better understanding of the important factors that influence citizens´ intention to participate, which, in turn, will inform the design and implementation of e-participation initiatives.