Public Satisfaction and Continuance Intention in UAE E-Government Services: An Integrated Information Systems Success, Technology Readiness, Technology Acceptance, and Trust Framework

Abstract

The long-term success of e-government services depends not only on the availability of digital platforms but also on citizens’ willingness to continue using them. Despite the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) extensive investment in digital-government transformation and smart-service initiatives, limited research has examined the combined influence of service quality, technology readiness, user perceptions, and trust on continuance intention. This study addresses this gap by developing and testing an integrated framework based on the Information Systems Success Model (ISSM), the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), the Technology Readiness Index (TRI), and trust. A quantitative cross-sectional research design was adopted, and data were collected from 419 respondents in the UAE with prior experience using e-government services. Data analysis was conducted using the Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) through SmartPLS. The findings indicate that system quality, information quality, and service quality significantly and positively influence user satisfaction, with information quality emerging as the strongest predictor. Optimism positively affects perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness, whereas insecurity and discomfort negatively influence users’ perceptions of e-government services. Perceived ease of use significantly enhances perceived usefulness, supporting the core assumptions of TAM. Furthermore, perceived usefulness and user satisfaction significantly increase continuance intention, while trust does not exert a significant direct effect. Mediation analysis further reveals that technology readiness indirectly influences continuance intention through perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness, while service-quality dimensions indirectly affect continuance intention through user satisfaction. The study contributes to e-government literature by integrating ISSM, TAM, TRI, and trust into a comprehensive framework explaining continuance intention in UAE e-government services.