The Research Strategy

In conducting a study, there are several research strategies that can be used by a researcher. Creswell describes a research strategy as a detailed “plan or proposal to conduct research” in order to answer a research question or questions (2009, p.5).These research strategies are divided by Saunders et al. (2009) into seven strategies: experiment, survey, case study, action research, grounded theory, ethnography and archival research (Saunders et al., 2009). According to Yin (2003), each one of these strategiescan be used for descriptive, explanatory and/or exploratory research.

Saunders et al (2009, p.141) note that it is possible to include other strategies within one overall research strategy, thus within a case study, individual strategies like surveys can be used. The research strategies used in the current study are outlined below as well as the rationale behind their selection.

4.6.1

Survey Strategy

One of the most widely used research strategies in the social science field is the survey as it allows the researcher to acquire accurate, valid and reliable data in a short space of time (Neuman, 2013). It is thus frequently made use of in the field of information systems research (Orlikowski and Baroudi, 1991). Surveys allow the generation of quantitative data, usually collected by means of questionnaires or structured interviews, and are also compatible with a deductive approach (Saunders et al., 2016). This makes surveys particularly suitable for research designs that are descriptive and explanatory (Denzin and Lincoln, 2011). Saunders et al. (2016) also point out that this strategy facilitates an explanation of how variables relate to each other and statistical analyses of the results; and, as samples are generally large and thus significant, it is possible to generalise from the results. Furthermore, the survey strategy is generally associated with the positivist paradigm, which, as we have explained, is the approach that is mainly followed in this study.

The current study thus applied a survey strategy to examine and investigate the hypothesised relationships between the proposed factors in the developed MGAUM model. This strategy will enable questions about to what extent each factor in the theoretical model influences Saudi citizens’ intention to use m-government services to access information and conduct transactions.

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4.6.2

Case study strategy

When a phenomenon is to be studied in-depth, a case study is often used, and this is a popular method of collecting data in IT/IS research (Myers and Avison, 2002). Indeed, some scholars suggest that as it is so apt for exploring the relationship between IT innovations and the context in which they are used, the case study has become the most commonly used qualitative strategy in the field (Darke, Shanks and Broadbent, 1998; Myers, 2009; Orlikowski and Baroudi, 1991). Other authors have outlined the uses and advantages of the case study approach such as its being a strategy used in a real-life context, often with multiple sources of evidence (Robson, 2002, p.178); and Yin (2009, p.18) defined a case study as follows: “A case study is an empirical inquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context, especially when the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident”.

The case study is a strategy rather than a method, as it uses a range of methods to acquire detailed information (Collis and Hussey, 2009). It has the advantage of giving insights into both ‘what’ and ‘how’ questions about a phenomenon; for example, this study addresses what factors influence Saudi citizens’ intention to adopt and use m-government and how these factors would contribute to the successful implementation of m-government in the Kingdom.

A single case study thus provides an insight that contributes to answering research questions; however, it is from a single perspective, such as that of one organisation, government agency or ministry. This disadvantage can be addressed by conducting multiple case studies; and Yin notes that the strategy of using multiple case studies can be preferable as: “analytic conclusions from two or more case studies are more powerful than those coming from a single case” (2009, p.61).

Case studies may require multiple data collection methods in order to establish case construct validity (Omar Alhujran, 2009). Yin (1994) addressed several data collection methods that can be used in a case study, these methods are categorised to include:

1. Documentation. 2. Archival record.

3. Interviews – structured, semi-structured, or unstructured.

4. Direct observation of activities and phenomena and their environment. 5. Participant observation.

6. Physical artefacts.

In this study, face-to-face semi-structured interviews were carried out to collect data from managers in eight ministries in Saudi Arabia; and all interview questions were based on the previously conducted survey.

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The main aims of conducting and using multiple case studies were to enable the researcher to test, validate, analyse and to understand in depth the factors proposed in the MGAUM that could influence Saudi citizens’ intention to adopt and use m-government services and to identify other factors not in the proposed model that were deemed important from a managerial perspective. Also, the case studies phase not only reinforces the results of the survey; and whether or not survey results were consistent with managers’ ideas about what factors influenced Saudi citizens’ intention to adopt and use m-government services; but also revealed that there were some other underlying factors which were considered essential incentives. Moreover, analysis of the case study findings allows a comparison of the theoretical findings with actual practice; and expands the understanding of the impact of factors from the managerial perspective, strengthening the research findings by providing further results that relate to increasing citizens’ intention to adopt and use m-government services. This would significantly contribute to providing the knowledge required for implementing m-government services in the Saudi context with a high level of success; which is a major aim of this study.