Title from title page of PDF (University of Missouri--St. Louis, viewed February 24, 2010). Includes bibliographical references (p. 328-345).

The focus of this study was to investigate what makes the Mazabuka Municipal Council (hereafter regularly referred to as “the Council”) in Zambia attractive as an employer to the respondents by embedding it into a person-institution fit framework. Against this background, the main aim was to determine the PSM levels of employees at the Council. The quantitative research design was chosen as the most appropriate while, the post-positivist paradigm was adopted as the interpretive framework for this study. Triangulation was used thus, a mix of research methods particularly, a literature review, document analysis and a closed-ended self-administered questionnaire. Out of a population of 174 full-time employees targeted at the Council only 150 questionnaires were returned and used in the analysis. Results showed high PSM levels among majority of employees. Nonetheless, only the gender category showed differences in mean values, with males being more inclined to all the three PSM antecedents (public interest, self-sacrifice, compassion) than females. The findings could serve as an important instrument for the Council to consider in order to maintain the high PSM levels existing among its employees. Conversely, the Council may adopt certain recommendations (practical insights) derived from the study such as: to consider PSM as an important aspect in future recruitments and to develop an incentive system in order to maintain the high PSM levels that employees have when joining the Council as a preferred employer. By exploring the PSM levels of employees at a local authority in Zambia, such as the Mazabuka Municipal Council, the study endeavoured to make a contribution to the current literature on PSM theory in this context. / Public Administration and Management / M. P. A. (Public Administration)

Many low-income countries desire to implement and adopt digital government as a springboard for economic and social development but face many challenges. The United Nations identifies that Africa has especially lagged consistently in digital government development and adoption. Most scholars largely attribute the challenges to infrastructure and skills, and often rhetorically cite culture as playing a strong role. This study specifically examined the role of indigenous African culture (‘spirituality’, ‘communalism’ and ‘respect for authority and elders’) and internet access on the adoption of digital government services (e-filing and e-payment of taxes) by Small and Micro Enterprises (SMEs) in Zambia, with the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technologies (UTAUT) as the underpinning theoretical lens. Data analysis was done using Structural Equation Modelling with principal attention given to the moderating and mediating influence of indigenous African culture. The influence of internet access on the intention to adopt digital government was also examined. The findings from the cross sectional study of 401 tax registered SMEs suggests that ‘spirituality’, ‘African communalism’ and ‘respect for authority and elders’ have significant negative moderating effects on the adoption of e-filing but not on e-payment; and ‘spirituality’, ‘African communalism’ and ‘respect for authority and elders’ are all significant mediators of the intention to adopt both e-filing and e-payment. This means that indigenous African culture plays a significant role in explaining Africa’s position in digital government development and adoption. The findings also showed a negative influence of internet access on the intention to adopt digital government services despite the measures that government has put in place. These results make a novel contribution to Information Systems (IS) theory in identifying a critical yet often overlooked indigenous cultural influence on the adoption of digital innovations in low-income countries. The findings also calls for finding new or adapted IS theories that take into account such unique cultural constructs. The thesis recommends that the research is extended to other low-income countries as well as other contexts that exhibit strong indigenous cultural values. / School of Computing / Ph. D. (Information Systems)