Trust of Internet (TOI)

Researchers have found that ‘Trust in medium’ (i.e. in this case, the Internet) plays a key role in technology acceptance (Thatcher & Foster, 2003).

In describing a Middle-Eastern context, Alomari et al. (2010) explain that the predominant method of government transaction is paper-based and many citizens have the inclination to stay with the current method, which in turn is a cause of negative attitudes towards adopting e-government systems. It has also been noted that relevant e-government alternatives are not communicated well to stakeholders and are not backed up by right legislative frameworks; thus, causing lower adoption rates in Arab countries (Salem, 2006).

AlAwadhi and Morris (2009) while studying e-government implementation in Kuwait, a Middle-Eastern country, identified that people have more inclination to remain attached to the existing paper-based systems in case ‘something goes wrong’ – with Internet security and privacy issues being a strong concern.

82

In any online services, all transactions between the user and the supplier are passing through a third party, namely the Internet. Previous research finds a lack of trust in the use of the Internet for transactions due to privacy and security concerns (Scott, Acton, & Hughes, 2004). Deakins and Dillon (2002) also found that trust is affected by concerns about privacy and security. Such a concern stems from the perception that personal information may end up in the wrong hands, such as with hackers or fraudsters, resulting in misuse (J. W. Lee, 2003; Scott et al., 2004).

Despite the many benefits offered by many online services, the use of these services varies from one citizen to another, depending on the extent of trust in the Internet. A low level of trust in the Internet is an obstacle that prevents citizens from using online services, whereas a high level of trust of the Internet may be an important factor that gives citizens the confidence to engage in online services. This importance of ‘trust’ in e-government systems adoption was also highlighted elsewhere (Carter et al., 2016; Tolbert & Mossberger, 2006). Prior research has also considered trust as a key determinant in interactions (Warkentin, Gefen, Pavlou, & Rose, 2002).

The sensitivity of citizens towards storage of personal data has negative impacts on using online services. Some people are fearful of providing their personal information online, and they believe that this information might be exploited, and their privacy might be compromised. This fear makes them reluctant to engage in such an action as using e-government services because the information that users share about themselves online could make it possible for a thief to gather enough information to steal their identity. Citizens want to be sure that their information is safe when they are using e- services.

83

According to REUTERS (2014), antivirus software maker Symantec Corp announced that it discovered an advanced malicious software application that has been used to spy on governments, individuals, private companies and research institutes in 10 countries since 2008. If users come across such incidents and hear about such insecurity, their trust in the Internet medium and e-government gets shaken and levels of intention to adopt declines accordingly.

This highlights the importance of considering appropriate measures and safeguards to protect information perceived as important and private by users. If these clear safeguards and security/privacy protocols are missing, e-government initiatives may not be able to succeed.

As much e-government is about transactions using government provided services, it is of paramount importance to ensure transactional security and prioritise it to give a secure experience to users.

For citizens to adopt e-government services they should have the intention to receive and provide information through online channels. Trust in government and trust in the Internet have been found to be significant variables influencing the adoption of e- government services. Research conducted in the USA examining the adoption of e- voting has found trust in the Internet to be a significant factor (Schaupp & Carter, 2005). Another investigations examined the influence of ‘trust’ and ‘risk’ in e- government services adoption and found that TOI contributes to higher adoption rates (Alomari et al., 2010; Belanger & Carter, 2008; Carter et al., 2016).

Researchers have used various names for this factor of TOI and its subfactors. One of the commonly used alternative titles is ‘Perceived Risk’ which has been used by a number of researchers in their research models (Campbell & Goodstein, 2001; De

84

Ruyter, Wetzels, & Kleijnen, 2001; Hansen, 2005; Nui Polatoglu & Ekin, 2001). High ‘Perceived Risk’ is defined as “a fear of losing personal information and fear of being monitored on the Internet”; it is noted to have negative impacts on adoption rates (V. Kumar et al., 2007, p. 65).

Salem (2006) identifies trust of e-services (TOI) as a key barrier to adoption of e- government. He also identified factors related to SNs and IMAGE as contributing factors (e.g. the need for increasing public awareness and positive perceptions about e-government services which can contribute to shaping the opinions of new users) Thereby; the following hypothesis is proposed:

Hypothesis 9: Trust of the Internet (TOI)  Perceived Usefulness (PU):

Hypothesis 9 is that: Trust Of the Internet has a positive effect on the Perceived Usefulness of e-government services in Libya.