Practices and Challenges of Institutionalizing Information Communication Technology Assisted Service Delivery in the Ethiopian Public Service Sectors

Abstract

The major objective of the study was to examine the practices and challenges of institutionalizing information communication technology (ICT) assisted service delivery in Ethiopian public sector organizations. To achieve this objective, the study adopted a concurrent mixed research approach with descriptive and explanatory research designs. Data was collected from 853 sample respondents selected randomly. The data was analyzed with descriptive statistics and exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. The study's findings revealed that the basic and necessary ICT materials (equipment) are available and accessible. These ICT facilities are also used frequently by employees in their day-to-day activities to deliver services to customers. The result of the study also confirmed public sector employees have the basic competencies to utilize these facilities. Moreover, the study also revealed that the major challenges that impede the institutionalization of ICT-assisted service delivery are; the reliability of ICT equipment, lack of sufficient capacity-building training on utilizing ICT, and lack of sufficient budget for ICT infrastructure. Based on the confirmatory factor analysis result, it was confirmed that the institutionalization of ICT in service delivery has a positive and significant effect on perceived performance outcomes. Organizational structure needs to be designed based on adequate research in a way that can sustain for a long period. Employee retention strategy needs to be implemented by public sector organizations to reduce the high turnover rate of IT professionals.