What encourages citizens to use e-government? A rapid review and comprehensive model

E-government has the potential to bring substantial benefits to societies by increasing the effectiveness, efficiency, and transparency of government. To attain these benefits, citizens need to be willing to adopt and use e-government services, yet adoption has been identified by researchers as the largest risk facing e-government. Here we use a rapid review methodology to systematically and efficiently compile and synthesise research on the causes and correlates of citizen adoption of e-government services. Through this synthesis, we develop a comprehensive conceptual model of the drivers of citizens’ use of e-government. Our model includes eighteen predictors of e-government use across four categories: user perceptions; user background; environmental characteristics; and, service characteristics. It includes a broader array of factors than any other major theoretical approach, and effectively integrates several theories into a single comprehensive model of e-government adoption. Our review also identifies gaps in knowledge, and finds that further research is needed to test whether the relationships identified in existing research are causal, and to develop and test interventions that effectively increase citizens’ adoption of e-government.