Top management support, attitude and e-government implementation among public universities

This study aims to examine the mediating role of user attitude in the relationship between top management support and e-government implementation in Ugandan public universities. This study adopted a cross-sectional and quantitative research design. Data were collected from a sample of 384 academic staff, senior faculty administrators and registrars across five major public universities in Uganda using a self-administered questionnaire. Data were analyzed using SPSS and SmartPLS version 4 to test the hypothesized relationships. The findings reveal that both top management support and user attitude significantly predict e-government implementation, jointly explaining 76.6% of the variance in implementation levels. Additionally, user attitude partially mediates the relationship between top management support and e-government implementation. The study employed a cross-sectional design, which limits the ability to observe behavioral changes and long-term impacts of e-government implementation. It focused solely on public universities in Uganda, limiting generalizability to other sectors. This study provides novel empirical evidence on the mediating role of user attitude in the relationship between top management support and e-government implementation in public universities. While prior studies have emphasized technical and infrastructural factors, this study highlights the importance of attitudinal dynamics in achieving successful digital transformation, particularly in developing country contexts such as Uganda.