Empirical Investigation of the Role of Privacy and Data Protection in the Implementation of

269 Pages·2015·3.49 MB·English

Empirical Investigation of the Role of
Privacy and Data Protection in the
Implementation of Electronic
Government in Ghana

By

Eric Agyei-Bekoe

A Doctoral Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the
Award of Doctor of Philosophy
Faculty of Technology

Centre for Computing and Social Responsibility
De Montfort University

September 2013
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Abstract
This study investigates the role of privacy and data protection in the implementation of
e-government in developing countries. It examines the privacy and data protection
issues which arise when e-government is introduced in Ghana.
E-government is a way that governments liaise with their various departments and
agencies through the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs).
Through e-government, governments are able to provide better, effective and efficient
services to their citizens. This new form of governments’ delivering services
electronically to their citizens, businesses and various departments potentially offers
benefits (for example, economic development, low costs and improved services) to
society. However the implementation of e-government carries potential risks to users.
The potential for online identity theft and fraud raises privacy concerns.
From a theoretical foundation, fieldwork in Ghana, through interviews and focus
groups, is used to investigate the issue of privacy and data protection in e-government
implementation in an empirical setting. Interviewees included senior civil servants,
political leaders, members of the Select Committee on Communication, academics,
university students as well as stakeholders from private and public organisations. The
research borrowed from the Straussian grounded theory approach as a technique to
analyse the fieldwork data.
The results of the study indicate that privacy and data protection does not currently play
a significant role in e-government implementation in a developing country such as
Ghana. Other factors such as access to information and communication technologies
(Internet accessibility) and e-skills were found to be challenges which significantly
impact individuals’ use of e-government.
The study found that there is a low privacy concern among Ghanaian citizens. This was
found to be significantly related to a lack of awareness of privacy issues; and also the
national cultural dimensions of Ghanaian society.
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The study concludes by emphasising the importance of government investing in ICT
infrastructure and public education to raise awareness of e-government services, as well
as privacy and data protection issues.
Implications for research and policy makers are discussed. The study suggests future
research to investigate the further impact of privacy awareness on individuals’ adoption
of e-government in a collectivist society such as Ghana.

iii
Acknowledgements
I would first of all like to thank the almighty God, for protecting and seeing me through
the study. I dedicate the thesis to the loving memory of my late father, Joseph Kwabena
Bekoe and late brother, Kwame Boakye-Bekoe, through whose relentless efforts,
encouragement and support, I have come this far. And to my mum, Grace Dapaah,
whose prayers and love, have kept me focussed, I say thank you for providing me with
love, support and inspiration.
I am most grateful to the Government of Ghana for awarding me the scholarship to
pursue this PhD Programme. I would like to extend my sincere thanks to The Churches'
International Student Network Hardship Fund, DMU PhD Completion Fund and DMU
Hardship fund for the financial assistance when my external funding finished. I would
also like to thank Prof Mike Ocquaye, the former Deputy Speaker of Parliament and
other government officials of the Ghana government for their assistance during the
research fieldwork. I am highly indebted to Mr Dominic Amoako for volunteering to
transcribe part of the fieldwork data.
This thesis would never have been completed without the support and encouragement of
my supervisors, family and friends.
I must commend my entire supervisory team for all their support and constructive
criticism. I am very grateful to Professor Simon Rogerson, who gave me the opportunity
to undertake this research, but had to retire before the successful completion of the
research.
I must say, this research would not have seen the light of the day without Dr Ben
Fairweather, my first supervisor. His support and encouragement contributed
immensely to the successfully completion of the research. At a very critical period of
the research when I thought everything was lost, he gave me hope to move on. To my
second supervisor, Dr Richard Howley, who first introduced me to Privacy and Data
Protection during my Masters Degree programme, I say thank you for showing me the
way. I also appreciate your contribution and encouragement throughout the research
work. Dr Catherine Flick, the later addition to the supervisory team, really made an
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impact to the successful completion of the thesis. Her feedback and comments have
been really helpful. I am also most grateful to my examiners: Dr. Sara Wilford (Internal
Examiner - De Montfort University), Dr. Kutoma Wakunuma (Internal Examiner – De
Monfort University) and Dr. Penny Duquenoy (External Examiner – Middlesex
University), for the suggested post viva revisions. I agree with their suggestions which
helped strengthened the theoretical underpinning of the thesis. I also agree with them
that the research model was complex and it was therefore reviewed to ensure that it
works.
To my family, both at home and abroad, I will like to say thank you for being there for
me. A special thanks to my three young lovely kids, Erica, Joseph and Sarah, who do
not yet understand why I spent so much time researching and writing this thesis report
instead of playing with them frequently. To the entire Bekoe family, I say thank you all
for being there for me.
I am also thankful to all the interviewees who participated in the research for their time,
patience, and valuable information and suggestions. Last but not the least, my
appreciation goes to all members and fellow PhD students (both past and present) of the
Information Society Doctoral Programme for their useful discussions, kind words and
above all friendliness.
There are many people out there, whose names I cannot possibly list all here, but who
have in various ways contributed to the successful completion of this PhD research. To
all of you, I say ‘big thanks’ for everything.

Eric Agyei-Bekoe
30th September 2013

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Abbreviations
ACS Affiliated Computer Systems
BPS Business Process Solutions
CAC Consumer Advocacy Centre
CHRAJ Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice
CIC Community Information Centre
DPA Data Protection Act
ECOWAS Economic Community Of West African States
EOCO Economic and Organized Crime Office
EU European Union
FARSTARS Fair Adequate Rights Specific Transfer Accuracy Retention Security
G2B Government to Business
G2C Government to Citizen
G2G Government to Government
GFA Ghana Football Association
ICT Information Communication Technology
ICT4AD Information Communication Technology for Accelerated Development
IDI ICT Development Index
IDV Individualism
IICD Institute for International Cooperation and Development
IS Information Systems
IT Information Technology
ITU International Telecommunications Union
IVR Indulgence Versus Restraint
KACE Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence
LTO Long-Term Orientation
MAS Masculinity
NGO Non-Governmental Organisation
NITA National Information Technology Agency
OCED Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
PDI Power Distance Index
PDP Privacy and Data Protection
UAI Uncertainty Avoidance Index
UK United Kingdom
UN United Nations
UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
US United States
WWW World Wide Web
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... ii
Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................................... iv
Abbreviations ................................................................................................................................ vi
Table of Contents ......................................................................................................................... vii
List of Tables ............................................................................................................................... xii
List of Figures ............................................................................................................................. xiii
1 Chapter One: Research Introduction ..................................................................................... 1
1.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 1
1.2 Research rationale ......................................................................................................... 4
1.3 Ghana profile ................................................................................................................ 7
1.4 Research background .................................................................................................... 9
1.5 Research topic ............................................................................................................. 12
1.6 Research aims and objectives ..................................................................................... 13
1.7 Research questions ...................................................................................................... 14
1.8 Thesis structure ........................................................................................................... 15
1.9 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 16
2 Chapter Two: Literature Review......................................................................................... 18
2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 18
2.2 E-government .............................................................................................................. 19
2.3 Concepts of e-government .......................................................................................... 20
2.3.1 The impact of ICT on Ghana’s e-government implementation ........................... 24
2.4 The four-stage e-government model ........................................................................... 25
2.4.1 Cataloguing ......................................................................................................... 26
2.4.2 Transaction ......................................................................................................... 27
2.4.3 Vertical integration ............................................................................................. 28
2.4.4 Horizontal integration......................................................................................... 28
2.5 E-government in developed and developing countries ............................................... 29
2.6 E-government implementation in Ghana .................................................................... 31
2.7 Challenges of e-government implementation in Ghana .............................................. 32
2.7.1 Trust and corruption ........................................................................................... 33
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2.7.2 Law and ICT policy ............................................................................................. 35
2.7.3 Management ........................................................................................................ 36
2.7.4 Awareness and e-skills ........................................................................................ 37
2.7.5 Digital divide ...................................................................................................... 38
2.7.6 Equity issues ........................................................................................................ 39
2.7.7 Infrastructure development ................................................................................. 40
2.7.8 Privacy and security............................................................................................ 41
2.8 The concept of privacy ................................................................................................ 42
2.9 Privacy and data protection ......................................................................................... 43
2.10 Privacy and data protection in Ghana ......................................................................... 48
2.11 Breaches of privacy and data protection ..................................................................... 54
2.12 E-government and privacy .......................................................................................... 55
2.13 Summary ..................................................................................................................... 57
2.14 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 58
3 Chapter Three: Theoretical Framework .............................................................................. 61
3.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 61
3.2 Hofstede’s national culture model .............................................................................. 62
3.3 Criticism and limitation of Hofstede’s national culture model ................................... 63
3.4 Rationale for employing Hofstede’s national culture model ...................................... 64
3.5 What is culture? .......................................................................................................... 66
3.6 Discussion of Hofstede’s national culture model ........................................................ 68
3.7 Power distance ............................................................................................................ 70
3.8 Individualism .............................................................................................................. 71
3.9 Masculinity ................................................................................................................. 72
3.10 Uncertainty avoidance................................................................................................. 73
3.11 Influence of culture on PDP and e-government in Ghana .......................................... 74
3.11.1 Culture in privacy and data protection ............................................................... 74
3.11.2 Culture in e-government implementation............................................................ 77
3.12 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 78
4 Chapter Four: Research Methodology ................................................................................ 81
4.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 81
4.2 Philosophical assumptions .......................................................................................... 81
4.2.1 Positivism ............................................................................................................ 82
4.2.2 Interpretivism ...................................................................................................... 84
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4.2.3 Critical research ................................................................................................. 84
4.2.4 Comparison of the three identified IS philosophical paradigms......................... 85
4.2.5 Chosen research paradigm ................................................................................. 86
4.3 Research method ......................................................................................................... 86
4.4 Quantitative research methods .................................................................................... 88
4.5 Qualitative research methods ...................................................................................... 88
4.6 Differences between qualitative and quantitative research methods .......................... 89
4.7 Mixed methods ............................................................................................................ 90
4.8 Rationale for choosing qualitative research methods .................................................. 92
4.9 Research strategies ...................................................................................................... 93
4.9.1 Ethnography ........................................................................................................ 93
4.9.2 Grounded theory ................................................................................................. 93
4.9.3 Case study ........................................................................................................... 95
4.9.4 Action research ................................................................................................... 97
4.10 Data collection techniques .......................................................................................... 97
4.10.1 Direct and participant observation ..................................................................... 99
4.10.2 Documentation .................................................................................................... 99
4.10.3 Interviews .......................................................................................................... 100
4.10.4 Focus group ...................................................................................................... 101
4.11 Rationale for choice of data collection technique ..................................................... 102
4.12 The use of CADQAS in data analysis ....................................................................... 103
4.13 Pilot study ................................................................................................................. 104
4.14 Purposive sampling method ...................................................................................... 105
4.15 Summary ................................................................................................................... 105
5 Chapter Five: Pilot Study .................................................................................................. 107
5.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 107
5.2 Pilot study significance ............................................................................................. 107
5.3 Pilot study sample ..................................................................................................... 108
5.4 Procedure .................................................................................................................. 109
5.5 Pilot study data analysis ............................................................................................ 110
5.6 Findings and discussions ........................................................................................... 110
5.7 The contribution of the pilot study to the research ................................................... 111
5.8 Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 113
6 Chapter Six: Fieldwork Report ......................................................................................... 115
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6.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 115
6.2 Fieldwork follow-up ................................................................................................. 116
6.3 Selection of research participants ............................................................................. 117
6.3.1 Research participants ....................................................................................... 117
6.4 Data Collection ......................................................................................................... 122
6.4.1 Fieldwork Interviews......................................................................................... 124
6.4.2 Focus group ...................................................................................................... 128
6.5 Research ethical consideration .................................................................................. 129
6.6 Field notes ................................................................................................................. 130
6.7 Data transcription ...................................................................................................... 130
6.8 Conclusion and summary of data collection ............................................................. 130
7 Chapter Seven: Data analysis procedure ........................................................................... 132
7.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 132
7.2 Data analysis procedures ........................................................................................... 133
7.2.1 The use of Nvivo in data analysis ...................................................................... 134
7.2.2 Open coding ...................................................................................................... 135
7.2.3 Axial coding ...................................................................................................... 140
7.2.4 Selective coding................................................................................................. 143
7.3 Memo writing ............................................................................................................ 143
7.4 Summary ................................................................................................................... 144
8 Chapter Eight: Data analysis ............................................................................................. 146
8.1 Awareness of e-government and privacy and data protection .................................. 146
8.1.1 Awareness of privacy issues in e-government ................................................... 149
8.1.2 Awareness of potential benefits of e-government implementation .................... 151
8.2 Trust in government, motivation and confidence to go online ................................. 156
8.3 Information and communication technology ............................................................ 159
8.4 Privacy and data protection in e-government............................................................ 163
8.5 Findings and discussions ........................................................................................... 166
8.5.1 Finding 1: Privacy and data protection does not affect individuals’ use of e-
government services, except in few cases ......................................................................... 167
8.5.2 Finding 2: There is low privacy concern and lack of awareness of e-government;
and privacy and data protection issues ............................................................................. 169
8.5.3 Finding 3: New technology is associated with digital divide which directly
influences e-government use ............................................................................................. 173
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