4
Technology Adoption in Saudi Arabia
4.1 Introduction
The adoption of new technology plays a vital role in shaping
the future of the educational sector of any country (Mosa,
Naz’ri bin Mahrin, & Ibrahim, 2016). Thus, it is important to
understand the concept of users’ adoption of technology. To
improve the quality of education and to enhance the professional productivity of the instructors, the latest technologies are required to be adopted and integrated into the
educational system (Tomei, 2005). The information technology used by the people is impacted by cultural values
(Im, Hong, & Kang, 2011). Hence, many researchers argue
that cultural variables need to be incorporated into technology acceptance models (Baptista & Oliveira, 2015; Lu &
Lin, 2012). A sound understanding of Saudi cultural interaction with computing environments could lead to better
acceptance of IT in the country (Alharbi, 2006). Thus, the
study discusses the adoption of new technology in the cultural context of Saudi Arabia.
4.2 Study Settings: The Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia
As our study was conducted in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
(KSA), here we provide some background information about
this country. The KSA was founded by King Abdul Aziz bin
Abdulrahman Al-Saud in 1932. Being a Muslim state, it was
assured by the government that the constitution would be
governed by the Holy Quran and Sharia law. The most
significant and attractive characteristics of the Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia are the presence of the holy shrines in Makkah
and Medina as well as it being the birthplace of Islam. These
characteristics contribute to Muslim pilgrims visiting Saudi
Arabia every year. Muslims all over the world turn their
faces toward Holy Kaaba ‘five times’ at the time of every
prayer. As shown in Fig. 4.1, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
is the largest country in the region having an area of almost
2,150,000 square kilometers (868,730 square miles) that
covers almost two-thirds of the Arabian Peninsula in the
south-west of the continent of Asia (‘The World Fact Book’,
2016). There are seven Arab countries with its border: Jordan 731 km, Kuwait 221 km, Iraq 811 km, Oman 658 km,
UAE 457 km, Yemen 1307 km, and Qatar 87 km (‘The
World Fact Book’, 2016). Riyadh serves as the capital city
and has a large population in the central region of KSA.
According to the World Fact Book (2016), the average literacy rate of the total population is 94.4% (male: 97% and
female: 91.1%). The currency of Saudi Arabia is Saudi
Riyal. The economy depends mostly on the income from oil
exports and petroleum products. Saudi ARAMCO is the
state-owned petroleum company. The natural resources of
KSA are petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, gold, and copper
(The World Fact Book, 2016).
Saudi Arabia is a developing country where technology
acceptance on an individual and business level is highly
influenced by government policies (Alharbi, 2006). When
the Internet was launched into KSA, a prime concern for the
government was about undesirable material and contents,
such as pornography. Therefore, an internet filter managed
by the King Abdulaziz City of Science and Technology was
established in the city of Riyadh to control undesirable
contents. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is focusing
on the adoption of new technology (such as cloud computing) due to its vital benefits and their extensive use in various
organizations (Scherer, Siddiq, & Tondeur, 2019). The
adoption of new technology plays a significant role in
shaping the future of the educational sector of any country
(Mosa et al., 2016). Thus, it is important to understand the
concept of users’ adoption of technology.
4.3 Technology Adoption in Saudi Context
Information and communication technology (IC&T) is
rapidly growing in Saudi Arabia. The Saudi government has
taken various steps to transform Saudi Arabia into a digital
society (Aljabre, 2012). The number of Internet users grew
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
R. A. Khan and H. Qudrat-Ullah, Adoption of LMS in Higher Educational Institutions of the Middle East,
Advances in Science, Technology & Innovation, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-50112-9_4
19
Technology Adoption in Saudi Arabia
4.1 Introduction
The adoption of new technology plays a vital role in shaping
the future of the educational sector of any country (Mosa,
Naz’ri bin Mahrin, & Ibrahim, 2016). Thus, it is important to
understand the concept of users’ adoption of technology. To
improve the quality of education and to enhance the professional productivity of the instructors, the latest technologies are required to be adopted and integrated into the
educational system (Tomei, 2005). The information technology used by the people is impacted by cultural values
(Im, Hong, & Kang, 2011). Hence, many researchers argue
that cultural variables need to be incorporated into technology acceptance models (Baptista & Oliveira, 2015; Lu &
Lin, 2012). A sound understanding of Saudi cultural interaction with computing environments could lead to better
acceptance of IT in the country (Alharbi, 2006). Thus, the
study discusses the adoption of new technology in the cultural context of Saudi Arabia.
4.2 Study Settings: The Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia
As our study was conducted in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
(KSA), here we provide some background information about
this country. The KSA was founded by King Abdul Aziz bin
Abdulrahman Al-Saud in 1932. Being a Muslim state, it was
assured by the government that the constitution would be
governed by the Holy Quran and Sharia law. The most
significant and attractive characteristics of the Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia are the presence of the holy shrines in Makkah
and Medina as well as it being the birthplace of Islam. These
characteristics contribute to Muslim pilgrims visiting Saudi
Arabia every year. Muslims all over the world turn their
faces toward Holy Kaaba ‘five times’ at the time of every
prayer. As shown in Fig. 4.1, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
is the largest country in the region having an area of almost
2,150,000 square kilometers (868,730 square miles) that
covers almost two-thirds of the Arabian Peninsula in the
south-west of the continent of Asia (‘The World Fact Book’,
2016). There are seven Arab countries with its border: Jordan 731 km, Kuwait 221 km, Iraq 811 km, Oman 658 km,
UAE 457 km, Yemen 1307 km, and Qatar 87 km (‘The
World Fact Book’, 2016). Riyadh serves as the capital city
and has a large population in the central region of KSA.
According to the World Fact Book (2016), the average literacy rate of the total population is 94.4% (male: 97% and
female: 91.1%). The currency of Saudi Arabia is Saudi
Riyal. The economy depends mostly on the income from oil
exports and petroleum products. Saudi ARAMCO is the
state-owned petroleum company. The natural resources of
KSA are petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, gold, and copper
(The World Fact Book, 2016).
Saudi Arabia is a developing country where technology
acceptance on an individual and business level is highly
influenced by government policies (Alharbi, 2006). When
the Internet was launched into KSA, a prime concern for the
government was about undesirable material and contents,
such as pornography. Therefore, an internet filter managed
by the King Abdulaziz City of Science and Technology was
established in the city of Riyadh to control undesirable
contents. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is focusing
on the adoption of new technology (such as cloud computing) due to its vital benefits and their extensive use in various
organizations (Scherer, Siddiq, & Tondeur, 2019). The
adoption of new technology plays a significant role in
shaping the future of the educational sector of any country
(Mosa et al., 2016). Thus, it is important to understand the
concept of users’ adoption of technology.
4.3 Technology Adoption in Saudi Context
Information and communication technology (IC&T) is
rapidly growing in Saudi Arabia. The Saudi government has
taken various steps to transform Saudi Arabia into a digital
society (Aljabre, 2012). The number of Internet users grew
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
R. A. Khan and H. Qudrat-Ullah, Adoption of LMS in Higher Educational Institutions of the Middle East,
Advances in Science, Technology & Innovation, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-50112-9_4
19