Channel choice and the digital divide in e-government: the case of Egypt

Abstract

This paper examines channel choice and the digital divide in Egyptian electronic government or e-government. Citizens have access to a variety of service delivery channels when they initiate contact with their government, ranging from e-government to more traditional channels such as the phone and in-person visits to a government office. This paper examines the extent of use of both contact channels for citizens and the impact of the digital divide on channel use. A public opinion survey of Egyptian citizens was analyzed, and the results showed that there was a digital divide in the use of e-government by citizens. The digital divide also extended to other contact channels such as the phone and when citizens used multiple contact channels for public service delivery. The results of this study imply that for the development of e-government, especially in the context of a developing country such as Egypt, policy-makers need to understand that e-government is one of many channels that citizens can use when they initiate contact with their government. The results of this study should encourage policy-makers to recognize the importance of public service delivery in a multichannel environment.

Shirin Madon is the accepting Associate Editor for this article.

Keywords:

• e-government
• information technology and public administration
• survey research
• Egypt

Acknowledgements

This work is part of a research project financed by a grant from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC, Canada). The authors express their gratitude to Dr H.E. Ahmed Darwish, Minister of State for Administrative Development, for his support of the research.

Notes

Shirin Madon is the accepting Associate Editor for this article.

In order to ensure greater representation of the sample, the economic level index of the families of the respondents was calculated using factor analysis. This index gives each family a value that determines its economic level compared with the rest of the families in the sample, according to the ownership of mobile phone, satellite dish, car, air-conditioner, computer, video, automatic washing machine, deep freezer, dishwasher, water heater, and the type of housing. Then, the sample households are divided into three categories corresponding to three levels of living: the first category includes families, similar to less than 40% of households in terms of standard of living in Egypt as a whole (including families that do not have a home phone), while the second category includes families similar to the proportion of 20% of households that have a standard of living for the average level of Egypt as a whole (including families that do not have a home phone), and third category includes families similar to the top 40% of households in terms of standard of living in Egypt as a whole (including the families that do not have a home phone).

Low economic status includes families, similar to less than 40% of households in terms of standard of living in Egypt as a whole.