Factors Affecting the Adoption of New Technology: the case of 311 Government Call Centers

Authors

Susan Caroline Young, Florida International UniversityFollow

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Major/Program

Public Affairs

First Advisor's Name

Allan Rosenbaum

First Advisor's Committee Title

Committee Chair

Second Advisor's Name

Sukumar Ganapati

Second Advisor's Committee Title

Committee Member

Third Advisor's Name

Keith D. Revell

Third Advisor's Committee Title

Committee Member

Fourth Advisor's Name

Mandayam O. Thirunarayanan

Fourth Advisor's Committee Title

Committee Member

Keywords

311 Call Centers, E-Government, Technology Adoption, Public Sector Innovation, Telecommunication, Technology and Innovation

Date of Defense

2-16-2015

Abstract

Government call centers (311) were first created to reduce the volume of non-emergency calls that were being placed to emergency 911 call centers. The number of 311 call centers increased from 57 in 2008 to about 300 in 2013. Considering that there are over 2,700 municipal government units across the United States, the adoption rate of the 311 centers is arguably low in the country. This dissertation is an examination of the adoption of 311 call centers by municipal governments. My focus is specifically on why municipal governments adopt 311 and identifying which barriers result in the non-adoption of 311 call centers. This dissertation is possibly the first study to examine the adoption of 311 call centers in the United States. The dissertation study has identified several significant factors in the adoption and non-adoption of 311 government call centers. The following factors were significant in the adoption of 311 government call centers: managerial support, financial constraints, organizational responsiveness, strategic plan placement, and technology champion. The following factors were significant barriers that resulted in the non-adoption of a 311 government call center; no demand from citizens, start up costs, annual operating costs, unavailability of funding, and no obvious need for one.If local government entities that do not have a 311 government call center decide to adopt one, this study will help them identify the conditions that need to be in place for successful adoption to occur. Local government officials would first need to address the barriers in setting up the 311 call centers.

Identifier

FI15050209

Recommended Citation

Young, Susan Caroline, "Factors Affecting the Adoption of New Technology: the case of 311 Government Call Centers" (2015). FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 1795.
https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/1795