Effects of national culture on e-government diffusion—A global study of 55 countries

•We use the GLOBE model to study e-government diffusion across 55 countries.•Some of national cultural characteristics have a direct impact on e-government diffusion.•Economic development has a moderating effect on culture and e-government diffusion.•The results could advance the development of national e-government diffusion strategies.

This study aims to examine whether and how national culture affects e-government diffusion. To explore the possible relationship, we analyze two sets of international-level indexes: (1) the indexes of five of the societal cultural practices of the GLOBE project [35]; and (2) the e-government development and participation indexes from the most recent United Nations e-government survey [71]. Because economic development reportedly plays an important role in both e-government diffusion and cultural dynamics, we also examine the relationships between GNI per capita, culture, and e-government diffusion. A sample of 55 countries was studied. We find that culture does have an effect on e-government diffusion in various ways, and that economic development in the form of GNI per capita has a moderating effect on the relationship between culture and e-government diffusion. We discuss the implications of these findings for e-government strategy. In addition, we identify the limitations of the study and propose areas for future research. This study is among the first to use the GLOBE approach to study cultural effects on e-government diffusion while endeavoring to explore the relationship between culture and e-government diffusion.