Electronic Participation and Technology Acceptance of People for the Operation of Local Administrative Organizations in Surat Thani Province

Abstract

This research aimed to 1) survey the current state and level of  e-participation among residents in the operations of Local Administrative Organizations, and 2) investigate people's acceptance of technology in  e-participation through dedicated applications. The study included an electronic participation examination in Local Administrative Organizations and the design and development of the "Participate" application. Additionally, it aimed to evaluate the application’s effectiveness and conduct focus group discussions to identify problems and obstacles in promoting e-participation within these organizations. The research sample consisted of 380 residents from 31 Local Administrative Organizations that scored below 80% in governance according to the Local Performance Assessment (LPA), selected through cluster random sampling. The research instruments included: 1) a questionnaire on electronic participation in Local Administrative Organizations, 2) the "Participate" application, 3) an application performance evaluation form, and 4) a structured focus group discussion process. Data analysis involved descriptive statistics and the Pearson correlation coefficient.

The findings revealed that the sample group used websites, Facebook pages, and Line accounts of Local Administrative Organizations at a moderate level. However, their levels of e-participation, access to e-information, involvement in providing opinions and suggestions (e-consultation) including decision-making (e-decision making) were notably low. The study also found that the public's acceptance of technology for electronic participation through the "Participate" application showed a moderate correlation with the application’s usefulness and ease of use, indicating that applications that effectively meet user needs facilitate greater e-participation in local government operations.