Investigating the Determinants of Attitude, Use and Happiness of UAE Government Mobile Apps (GMA) Users : A Quantitative Approach in the UAE

Abstract

The primary objective of this paper is to examine how attitude to use may influence the use of mobile applications which in turn influence mobile users’ happiness in the context of the UAE government service sector. The paper tries to use an extension of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to investigate the effect of different variables on mobile users’ attitudes towards the utilization of government mobile applications (GMAs). The significance of this thesis is based on the fact that it attempts to fill the gap regarding factors that affect the adoption and user happiness with the government mobile apps especially in the UAE where the utilization of the mobile apps is strategic for the delivery of efficient public services. By employing a quantitative approach, this paper obtained statistical data from a sample of 477 participants, which include UAE citizens and residents using one of GMAs provided by the Ministry of Interior (MOI). This paper is used mainly seven variables that predict degree of users’ happiness, including perceived trustworthiness, perceived effort expectancy, perceived app quality, perceived ease of use, perceived skills readiness, perceived security, and perceived usefulness. The findings highlight that higher perceptions towards mobile apps are significant predictors of user attitude and usage patterns. Additionally, the paper identifies that higher levels of each perceptions contribute to greater user of mobile apps use and happiness. Evidences from this paper may enrich the understanding of how governments can improve the adoption of modern technologies such as mobile apps and drive happiness among users.