An investigation into affecting factors on acceptance of e-government service counters as a service delivery channel

The acceptance of e-government and utilizing it, are among the consequential issues that are dealt with in putting new technologies to use. This subject is of special importance because as long as e-government services are not utilized by citizens, new investments in information and communication technologies (ICT) sector would lead to the wastage of assets and resources. Accepting of e-services by citizens assures efficiency and usefulness of those services. In Iran, e-government services are delivered to citizens via service offices named e-government service counters. This study was intended to investigate the factors affecting on acceptance of e-services of e-government counters in Mashhad, Iran. Our research method was based on applied, survey research. The data was collected from citizens who were using e-government service counters via a questionnaire. The construct validity was scrutinized through factor analysis and Cronbach's alpha coefficient > 0.7 for different constructs of the questionnaire, affirmed its reliability. Statistical analysis of data was performed by method of structural equation modeling. The results showed that, first of all, organizational and social factors had significant positive effects on perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. Additionally, the influences of perceived ease of use and usefulness on attitude towards utilizing these services and, ultimately, influence of this variable on behavioral intention were confirmed. Finally, we proposed some practical recommendations for future studies and enumerated research limitations.