Exploratory Study

4.2.1.1 What is Exploratory Research?

Sekaran and Roger (2013) classify the purposes of undertaking exploratory studies into three different types based on the stage to which knowledge about the problem has advanced. These types are: exploratory, descriptive and causal. The timeline for these stages is explained with reference to the design decision as: “The design decisions become more rigorous as we proceed from the exploratory stage, where we try to describe certain characteristics of the phenomena on which interest centres, to the causal, hypothesis testing stage, where we examine whether or not conjectured relationships have been substantiated” (Sekaran and Roger, 2013).

Exploratory research can be conducted for different reasons and in various circumstances. The main purpose of exploratory research, as the term implies, is to clarify unclear or ambiguous problems (Zikmund, 2003; Sekaran and Roger, 2013).

When a problem is described as ambiguous, it means that the nature of that problem under investigation is unclear (Zikmund, 2003). On some occasions, even if some facts are known, more information is needed for developing a theoretical framework that is viable in reality (Sekaran and Roger, 2013). Doing an exploratory study is a necessity.

For instance, in marketing, exploratory research is needed before starting a product test in the market (Hague, 2006). Other occasions include when market intelligence is required but the decision makers cannot justify an extensive and large research project.

Indeed, in these cases, an exploratory study with interviews is sufficient (Hague, 2006).

Exploratory studies assist to find out what people like or do not like about an advertisement, product or service, and why they think that way (Hague, 2006).

Exploratory research is usually qualitative and involves using unstructured techniques along with small samples (Hague, 2006; Sekaran and Roger, 2013). Usually, exploratory studies rely on secondary research (e.g. literature review) and/or qualitative approaches to data collection such as more formal approaches (e.g. interviews and focus groups) and informal talks and discussions (with managers, employees and customers) (Sekaran and Roger, 2013).

Churchill (1979) mentioned some techniques that are typically productive in exploratory research: literature survey, insight stimulation, and experience survey. Those techniques are used in this research at different stages. A literature survey was conducted first to gain a thorough insight into what the literature tells us. Then, insight stimulation and experience survey were used to learn what interviewees think about e-government success in Saudi Arabia.

4.2.1.2 Rationale of the Exploratory Study

According to (Hague, 2006), one reason why an exploratory study should be conducted in general and to adopt a qualitative approach in particular is: “Qualitative research can be used as an exploratory tool. Where there is uncertainty about a subject, and the researcher does not know what detailed questions to ask, a few in-depth interviews or groups may be sufficient to provide an understanding and explanations which answer the problem”. Also, Loiacono et al. (2007) conducted three exploratory studies in parallel with a literature review to ensure that the model proposed was comprehensive and items were chosen from both the literature and consumers. Loiacono et al. (2007) justify the use of this approach to ensure that, “the study did not miss any key aspect that had not yet made it into the established literature”.

The uncertainty that this research intends to deal with is two-fold: the factors that influence the success of e-government portals in the context of Saudi Arabia and how to develop a comprehensive framework for evaluating e-government portals that is potentially applicable to be adapted and used in any country.

In the literature, many exploratory studies have been conducted to develop instruments to be used in measuring or developing frameworks for evaluation purposes. Examples of these studies are (Loiacono et al., 2007; Griffin and Halpin, 2005; Macdonald et al., 2011)). Loiacono et al. (2007) conducted their study after reviewing literature to find out the opinions of experts on the proper instruments for measuring the quality of websites.

Fu et al. (2006), in their exploratory study, tried to identify the potential differences between the three types of taxpayers with reference to the acceptance of electronic tax filing in the context of Taiwan.

In the context of Saudi Arabia’s e-government, three exploratory studies have been found which to some extent discuss issues related to e-government. These studies are exploratory research. Al-Khalifa (2012) conducted an exploratory evaluation on Saudi government websites using the W3C’s Web Accessibility Guidelines 2.0. The result of this study indicated that those websites have made many types of accessibility error. Another exploratory study was conducted by Alhussain and Drew (2010), which discussed the factors that affect employees’ acceptance of biometric technology in other e-government applications. The third was Al-Solbi and Al-Harbi’s (2008) study to explore the main e-government and policy factors that have contributed to electronic readiness (e-readiness) success and the factors that determine successful implementation of e-government in Saudi Arabia.

4.2.1.3 Exploratory Study’s Aim and Objectives

This exploratory study aimed to explore the main factors for understanding e-government systems success. The study particularly investigates citizens’ perception about factors and measures affecting the success of e-government systems in Saudi Arabia. The study also aimed to identify other potential factors in the context of Saudi Arabia. The findings of this exploratory study along with reviewing the literature assisted in proposing a comprehensive framework as the main output of this research. The following objectives were formed to achieve the aim of this study:

1. To extract demographic information of interviewees.

2. To learn better how well the e-government initiative program in Saudi Arabia is known by citizens.

3. To elicit the opinions of the interviewees towards e-government services and how successful or not they rate them, and why.

4. To know what the factors of ‘e-government success’ are from the perspective of the users.

5. To learn how to measure the proposed dimensions of e-government success.

6. To find out what advantages/ benefits users are expecting when using e-government portal services.

7. To determine how to make government portals beneficial and worthy of usage.

8. To determine how to measure user satisfaction when using e-government portal services, and how to enhance this satisfaction.

4.2.1.4 Methodology of the Exploratory Study

To explore the perception and expectation differences among the individuals in Saudi Arabia, this exploratory study has adopted the qualitative approach method of using a semi-structured interview. In fact, the decision on whether to adopt a qualitative or a quantitative approach lies on the researcher’s assumptions (Ahmad and Singh, 2012).

4.2.1.5 Data Collection

In our study, the qualitative data was collected using the semi-structured interview method. The participants are all Saudi nationals. They have been encouraged to be honest in referring to their personal experiences, opinions, and insights about e-government systems in Saudi Arabia. The responses have been quantified to capture the frequency of different factors. Responses to the interview questions assist in reshaping Delone and McLean’s (2003) model; alternative models can also be deployed as constructs and measures for establishing a comprehensive framework to evaluate e-government systems success.

The main purpose of undertaking this exploratory research is to elicit answers to a variety of questions related to the issues of developing a framework for evaluating e-government portals’ success. These questions seek demographic information, attitudes, personal experiences, and opinions of the targeted interviewees towards e-government portals in Saudi Arabia.

The data have been collected from different interviewees who vary demographically and have different backgrounds and qualifications. These interviewees are all employees, ranging from normal internet users to advanced developers, and of different managerial levels. They all work in the private and public sectors in Saudi Arabia. The main issues discussed in this exploratory study are the perception of citizens towards e-government in Saudi Arabia, and the factors most important to the interviewees when they critically evaluate the e-government systems. The participants provided their insights regarding these issues and how they conceptualize the success of e-government.

4.2.1.6 Data Analysis

Qualitative data analysis software, NVivo 8.0, has been used to analyse the interview data. The content analysis technique has been used to examine the responses of the participants. Neuman (2006) defines content analysis as: “a technique for examining the content, or information and symbols contained in written documents or other communication medium”. Wang and Huarng (2002) use this technique for analysing the comments of online customers to identify factors of service quality that influence e-satisfaction. Content analysis assists in addressing patterns and structures in a written text to make inferences (Darke et al., 1998).