A multivariate analysis of the determinants for adoption and use of the Document Workflow Management System in Botswana’s public sector

Governments in Africa are spending significant funds in their drive towards putting public business processes and services online. Although this drive has different names, such as electronic government (e-government), open government and open data, the motivation is hinged upon achieving overall efficiency and effectiveness in public services and is based on the notion of freedom of information. In Botswana’s public services, diverse interventions are being put in place to facilitate business automation and electronic records management. The then-Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI), now Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI), has joined the drive by implementing the Document Workflow Management System (DWMS) as an e-records management system. This study probes the determinant factors influencing meaningful adoption and usage of the DWMS for effective records and information management within MITI. Multivariate analysis is employed to understand which factors have the highest variance in adoption and use of the DWMS. The study utilises the adapted Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) as the conceptual framework in its design. Quantitative data was collected from a population of sixty-one officers, from which fifty-three (86.9%) responses were received and included in the analysis. Effort expectancy, behavioural intention, social influences and facilitating conditions were the key determinants for adoption and use accounting for 55% of variance. The study identifies to what degree each of the potent factors contribute to adoption and use of the DWMS at MITI. The major limitation of this study is that it was impossible to identify all the factors influencing behaviour intention, as human behaviour is difficult to measure. Other unidentified factors account for 45% of variance not accounted for by the predictor factors. This is an indication that there is a need for an in-depth study, preferably a longitudinal study, that critically probes the factors of technology adoption in work processes by a large set of individuals in a developing world context.