Citizen Readiness for Adopting Electronic Citizen Relationship Management (e-CiRM) : A Qualitative Exploration

In recent years, many cities in developing countries have implemented e-CiRM initiatives with the aim of building smart cities, including Serang City, Indonesia. Previous research has examined the readiness of Indonesian citizens for e-CiRM using quantitative method. To provide a deeper insight into the issue, qualitative research needs to be conducted. This paper reported a qualitative study which complements the previous quantitative studies. The research was conducted in Serang Banten. Thirty in-depth interviews were conducted from April to June 2019. e-CiRM awareness is low among uneducated people. Participants who were interested in e-CiRM argued that it provides the immediacy of delivering complaints to local governments. Some participants did not see the value of using e-CiRM for online complaints compared to face-to-face complaints. Illiteracy, lack of English skills, lack of trust and technological inadequacy were identified as barriers to the use of e-CiRM. However, a sense of belonging, evidence of utility, positive attitudes towards e-CiRM, and intention to use e-CiRM in the future became the driving factors in the adoption of e-CiRM. This study reaffirmed the conceptual framework of e-CiRM readiness with different dimensions and identified potential obstacles and possible solutions for e-CiRM. More attention should be given to user training, low-cost services and user trust.