ABSTRACT
Electronic government (e-Government) in its simplest form can mean
using information and communication technology (ICT) tools to provide
services to citizens. Still with the huge benefits and synergies that
e-Government grants to governments and societies, it faces many obstacles and
challenges. Therefore, there are always a number of critical success factors
and risks associated with e-Government. This paper highlights some of the key
ones; it critically assesses key factors that influence e-Government services
adoption and diffusion. Thus, the aim of this study is to examine and identify
the factors that influence and affect the utilization of e-Government in the
developing countries, specifically in Jordan. Furthermore, this article
investigates the challenges and barriers that must be overcome in order to
successfully implement e-Government in Jordan. Semi-structured interviews were
conducted and used in this study to collect the data. The results of this study
show that the most significant challenges and factors influencing the
implementation of e-Government services in Jordan are related to budgeting and
financial costs, human expertise, social influence, technological issues, lack
of awareness, resistance of public employees, data privacy and security, the
legal framework, the needed technology, administrative obstacles, and trust or
believing in e-Government. Conclusions, recommendations and future work are
stated at the end of the paper.