162 Int. J. Education Economics and Development, Vol. 8, Nos. 2/3, 2017
Copyright © 2017 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.
Enhancing citizen participation in South African
e-government: technology, organisation and
environment factors
Roxanne Piderit* and Nqabomzi Jojozi
University of Fort Hare, East London Campus,
Department of Information Systems,
50 Church Street,
East London 5201, South Africa
Email: rpiderit@ufh.ac.za
Email: manqanqajojozi@gmail.com
*Corresponding author
Abstract: According to the e-government readiness index, which determines
the capability and motivation of countries to use e-government for
development, South Africa is considered ready for e-government. However,
actual citizen use of e-government remains low. In order to investigate the
reasons for low citizen participation, e-government services will be evaluated
in terms of the technology-organisation-environment framework. Technology
factors to be investigated include the e-government strategy, security of data
and information, choice of platform, interoperability between platforms, and
infrastructure in place. In terms of organisation factors, citizen willingness to
share information, awareness and Information and Communication Technology
(ICT) skills and education will be investigated. Environmental factors to be
investigated are the political motivation for participation, economic factors
including ICT investment, and policies and regulations. This research aims to
investigate the factors which affect citizen participation in e-government, and
propose a model for evaluating e-government services. The model is proposed
based on a thorough literature survey and questionnaire findings relevant to the
identified factors.
Keywords: citizen participation; e-government; environment-organisation-
technology.
Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Piderit, R. and Jojozi, N.
(2017) ‘Enhancing citizen participation in South African e-government:
technology, organisation and environment factors’, Int. J. Education Economics
and Development, Vol. 8, Nos. 2/3, pp.162–175.
Biographical notes: Roxanne Piderit is an Associate Professor in the
Department of Information Systems at the University of Fort Hare. Her
research interests include citizen participation in e-government and factors
affecting student success in higher education.
Nqabomzi Jojozi is a final year Masters Student in the Department of
Information Systems at the University of Fort Hare. Her study investigates the
technology, organisation and environment factors which impact on the
participation of citizens in e-government activities.