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The concept of Society 5.0, first introduced by Japan in 2016, has become a widely accepted model for the development of social infrastructures across the world. It is a model which is expected to take root globally over the next few years. It is also a model which has smart cities, which are connected and inclusive, at its core. The role of open data is critical to smart cities, and the ability to design and implement strategies for its use is a crucial element in their growth and success. This requires a leadership and organisational culture that embraces the concept of open government data (OGD) and understands its key role in the development of smart cities. In this paper, we examine how the leadership and organisational culture in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Countries has impacted the progress of OGD initiatives and, therefore, the transition to smart cities. This is approached via a re-analysis of data from an earlier study in which semi-structured interviews were used to understand the views and attitudes of a range of senior government department personnel in OGD-related roles, where here a new thematic analysis seeks to identify clearer pointers to attitudes and practices directly relating to smart cities and Society 5.0. The focus on internal factors, such as leadership attitudes and organisational culture, as opposed to external factors, such as technology and resources, differentiates this research from previous studies and adds to our current knowledge. The findings lead to a discussion that identifies a likely gap in the leadership provided by more senior figures. A pilot study of a group of these leaders suggests a generalised problem with communication of policy, objectives and strategies, which is crucial to overcoming cultural impediments to smart city development. While further research is required, a need clearly emerges for significant changes in attitude and application at senior managerial and leadership levels if strategic goals are to be achieved. The paper also makes a number of specific recommendations for activities that could improve progress and indicate areas where more research would be beneficial.

Organizational sustainability supports the financial, social, and cultural well-being of organizations and their surrounding communities. However, few studies have examined organizational sustainability in Saudi Arabia or its link to information technology. This study used self-reported data from a large sample of employees at various Saudi government institutions to conclude that these institutions moderately implemented organizational sustainability. Correlation and regression analyses demonstrated weak associations between various types of organizational sustainability and dimensions of information system success, where user satisfaction with information systems is the strongest positive predictor of perceived organizational sustainability. Organizational sustainability is still emerging in the public sector, and further research is needed to identify predictors of its success.

Open Government Data (OGD) initiatives can deliver many cultural and institutional benefits. This is why many governments are trying to establish an OGD ecosystem. However, although many countries have made good progress in doing so, some face significant challenges. In such cases, country-specific studies can prove valuable in understanding not only the current situation, but also in defining the obstacles to progress. As far as the authors of this paper can determine, this study is the first to examine the benefits of, and barriers to, implementation of the OGD initiative Saudi Arabia. The study conducts and analyses interviews with Saudi Arabian government officials in both leadership and technical positions, in order to obtain an informed view of the OGD initiative in Saudi. The study contributes to the existing knowledge base by identifying the main benefits of the Saudi Arabian Open Government Initiative and the barriers to its implementation.

Open government data (OGD) involves exposing government data to the public, guided by the values of clarity, accountability, honesty, and integrity. This study investigates the impact of the perceived quality of data, systems, and services on citizens’ trust in OGD, with the information systems success model as the theoretical framework. A questionnaire was delivered electronically to reach OGD users around the world. A total of 358 complete responses were obtained, representing 63.58% of all responses. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the hypothesized relationships between constructs based on users’ responses. The findings confirm the impact of data, system, and service quality on citizens’ perceived trust in OGD. Moreover, perceived system and service quality had a positive impact on perceived data quality, and perceived service quality had a positive effect on perceived system quality. These findings indicate that OGD service quality affects data and system quality, making it the most fundamental motivator of citizens’ trust in OGD. This highlights the role of open government platforms in developing public services and providing users with complete and correct data, feedback tools, and data visualization.

Today, smart cities offer many significant benefits. As a result, the smart city is usually described in highly benign terms, and it is often uncritically assumed that its implementation must lead to widescale improvements, at all levels of society. Yet, while smart cities undoubtedly offer advantages, they also carry associated risks and dangers which could outweigh the benefits. This raises the important question of to which extent the ordinary citizen is aware of these risks and dangers. This study sets out to examine this question. While the ‘downsides’ of smart cities have been the subject of research over the past few years, there have been no studies which explore the perception of smart city disadvantages among citizen-stakeholders in the GCC countries. This study seeks to fill this gap in the literature, by examining the perspectives of a representative sample of citizens from the GCC. The results show that, despite the ‘whitewashing’ effect of public messaging, the study’s participants have a range of significant concerns about smart cities which could affect their acceptance of such initiatives. The findings will inform smart city development bodies in the GCC and contribute to strategies for promoting smart cities and citizen engagement.

This paper undertakes to explore the perceptions of academics regarding information sharing on social network sites (SNS) and related privacy issues. Specifically, the paper was designed targeting academics using SNS to disseminate information and/or for other academic purposes. The paper is based on a mixed method research, the exploratory stage consequential for the confirmatory stage of the research. The findings of the research highly the complex relationships between personal information collection and usage (PICU) factors, personal information control (PIC) factors, and awareness of the effectiveness of privacy policy (AEPP) factors. This culminates in the formulation of a research model based on the theory of reasoned action. Given that the research took place within a context where gender is significant in shaping the worldview of the individual, groups, and society, the paper also seeks to contribute to the existing gender-based narrative on information sharing and privacy issues on SNS, mainly demystifying gender-based stereotypes.

Open government data (OGD) has been introduced relatively recently in Gulf Cooperation Council Countries (GCC Countries). However, progress has been significantly less than either hoped for or expected. The purpose of this research is to explore the reasons for this lack of progress. To do so, the attitudes and views of a range of senior government department (OGD-related) personnel were sought, using semi-structured interviews, and the results examined using thematic analysis. Unlike existing studies, which focus on external barriers to progress, this study focuses on internal factors which can result in a lack of progress to implementation, such as leadership attitudes, organisational culture and fear of failure. The findings show that considerable changes are required at both an ideological and practical level, if the gap between expectation and reality is to be closed. The paper concludes with recommendations of specific actions that can be taken to close this gap and the identification of areas where further study would be useful.

Knowledge sharing strengthens individual creativity, critical thinking and innovation. It also improves research and development endeavors, performance and productivity at the organizational level. Knowledge sharing decreases the amount of red-tape faced by organizations, firms and individuals in achieving economic, as well as social improvements. Notwithstanding the plethora of empirical studies on knowledge sharing determinants, much confusion has been produced by differing conclusions. Using original data collected via questionnaires from a sample of 404 participants at a Saudi public university, this analysis tested the effect of social capital on knowledge sharing intentions and behaviors. Findings from the Structural Equation Model found support to the hypotheses claiming positive associations between social ties, trust, identification, reciprocity, shared language, and shared vision and knowledge sharing. This study proposes a practice-based strategy for higher learning institutions to improve knowledge sharing behaviors built on the two components of enhancing enabling environments and technical skills. On the theoretical level, this study argues that the effects of social capital constructs differ with respect to the context considered. In higher education, social capital is thought to have a weak significant positive explanatory power on knowledge sharing behaviors.

There is limited evidence of the effects of culture and context on student readiness for e-learning, and how these might interact with gender. This study addresses this gap by studying the effect of culture and context on the readiness of high school students to use e-learning in a unique setting: an education system in which male and female students are educated separately. A mixed methods research approach was adopted because of our emphasis on the subjective aspect of the concept of readiness. Findings demonstrate that there are clear differences between the genders, but that these must be interpreted carefully in this cultural setting. There is scope for further research that investigates this gender divide in other e-learning contexts, including those where male and female students learn together and those where other cultural factors may influence student readiness to use e-learning.

Recent advances in technology have made truly open and accessible government significantly more realisable. One of the ways in which governments are using this technology is in the implementation of online portals that allow open (i.e., public and unrestricted) access to data and use of data. Such portals can be used by citizens and professionals to facilitate improved decision-making across a wide range of areas, from car-parking to promoting entrepreneurialism. However, the existence of portals per se is not enough. To maximise their potential, users must also feel that they are both accessible and usable. To gain insights into the current state of usability of OGD portals for professionals working in data-related areas, a comparative study of the portals of the G7 group was carried out, using a mixed methodology. This is the first specific comparison of these portals for such users, as well as the first study to add a user-centred qualitative dimension to the research. The study’s findings showed that the G7 countries are not maximising the potential of their portals or collaborating effectively. Addressing these issues, and building better cross-national consistency, would help to improve the value delivered by investment in OGD portals. The study also further supported an existing user-centred, heuristic evaluation framework for application to a more specific user group, as well as more generally.

Information sharing via social networking systems (SNS) is a common practice among academics, as well as others, that brings substantial benefits. At the same time, privacy concerns are widespread among SNS users, which may tend to inhibit their maximising the benefit from using the systems. This paper investigates the proposition that SNS user attitudes and behaviour are affected by privacy concerns, and that the effects are subject to significant cultural factors. A broad assessment of the literature provides the context for the study. Working in the context of Saudi Arabia, we apply a mixed-methods approach beginning with in-depth interviews, exposing in detail a range of views and concerns about privacy and SNS use, also allowing us to identify three key factors that bear on SNS usage and users’ concerns. Analysis of these factors in the light of the “theory of reasoned action” derives a structural model predicting several hypotheses relating the factors and users’ attitudes and behaviour. We assess the model through development of a questionnaire, administered to a large pool of academic participants, that allows us to examine how the model responds in general, and via multigroup partial least squares analyses, differentially to gender and to culturally distinct (Arab vs. non-Arab) constituents of the participant group. Results show good support for the hypotheses and clear gender and culture effects. Picking up issues from the interviews, discussion focuses on users’ views about SNS providers’ privacy policies and their inadequacy regarding culturally specific ethical concerns. We argue that these views may reflect different regulatory environments in combination with other cultural factors.

In an era of increased global investment in the use of technology in education generally, Saudi Arabia has intensified its quest to incorporate E-learning in studying English as a foreign language (EFL) in Saudi schools. The benefits for this paradigm shift in focus are not far-fetched because the growth of the internet and the proliferation of computers appear to have had a direct impact on the steady increase in popularity of E-learning, especially in studying EFL. This paper is based on a qualitative research design using group interviews that explored the perspectives of students and teachers on the underlying factors that indicate the readiness of students to use E-learning in studying EFL in Saudi Arabia. The findings identified three underlying sets of immediate factors that included: E-learning self-efficacy, personal drivers and access to the requisite resources. In addition, the study demonstrated how contextual underlying factors such as school and family support help to shape the readiness of students to use E-learning in studying EFL in Saudi Arabia. This paper provides a synthesis of the evidence on what participants considered as the personal and environmental conditions that contribute to successful E-learning implementation.

Over the past few decades, there have been tremendous increase in technology advancement and the significance of this in the field of education cannot be overemphasised. The adoption and use of E-learning in studying EFL, in particular, is one such areas that has experienced such fast-paced development for some time now. As a result, the government all over the world are committing a lot of resources to keep up with this technology advancement. In this light, the government of Saudi Arabia through its Ministry of Education has recently made commitment, both as the practical and policy levels, with the hope to also benefit from using E-learning in studying EFL in Saudi Schools. However, little is known about the perception of students and teachers regarding the role of E-learning is studying EFL in the Saudi context. In an attempt to contribute to this research base, this paper draws on an empirical investigation using group interviews with students and teachers in order to gain insight into their perception about the role of E-learning in studying EFL in Saudi Arabia. The findings are presented and discussed in four thematic areas: promoting key learning skills, independent learning, flexible learning and interactive learning. The paper also highlights the limitations of the research and concludes by making a number of recommendations.