Impact of Users’ Socio-Cultural and Religious Orientation on Government Resource Planning (GRP) Systems Usage in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of users' socio-cultural orientation and religious values on government resource planning systems in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Although many studies have been conducted on the adoption of technology in developed nations, only a few analyses have focused on the Middle Eastern region. This research fills that gap. The study developed an integrated conceptual research model based on existing technology acceptance theories, namely theory of reasoned action, technology acceptance model, unified theory of acceptance and use of technology and Hofstede's cultural dimensions theory. An online survey questionnaire was sent to 1677 employees at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Saudi Arabia and a total of 377 completed questionnaires were received of which 340 were considered usable, making a response rate of 22.48%. Data was analyzed using multivariate statistical analysis. The analysis finds there is a relationship between the socio-cultural and religious constructs with reference to attitude about using government resource planning systems. Results reveal that 55% of the variance (R2 = 0.557) of employees' attitude to the GRP application can be explained by the effect of socio-cultural and religious variables. Findings show that cultural values (t (340) = 3.862, p<; 0.000), social network (t (340) = 4.095, p<; 0.000), peers' influence (t (340) = 4.515, p<; 0.000) and religious values (t (340) = 5.062, p<; 0.000) are significant predictors of GRP acceptance. Furthermore, the analysis shows demographic factors moderate between the determinants and users' perceptions. These findings have important implications for the acceptance and implementation of GRP systems in Saudi Arabia.

Keywords

• Government resource planning (GRP) systems
• cultural values
• social networks
• peers’ influence
• religious values
• perception