International Journal of Public Administration

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Adoption of Cloud-Based Accounting Practices in

Turkey: An Empirical Study

Meltem Altin & Recep Yilmaz

To cite this article: Meltem Altin & Recep Yilmaz (2021): Adoption of Cloud-Based Accounting
Practices in Turkey: An Empirical Study, International Journal of Public Administration, DOI:
10.1080/01900692.2021.1894576

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Published online: 08 Mar 2021.

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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
https://doi.org/10.1080/01900692.2021.1894576

Adoption of Cloud-Based Accounting Practices in Turkey: An Empirical Study

Meltem Altin and Recep Yilmaz
Graduate School of Business, Sakarya University, Sakarya, Turkey

ABSTRACT KEYWORDS
With the rapid expansion of cloud computing technologies, one of the important mandatory Cloud-based accounting;
services provided by governments is cloud-based accounting applications. This study aims to adoption; critical factor;
examine the main factors that play a role in users’ decisions to adopt cloud-based accounting Turkey
services in Turkey. We propose a modified version of The Extended Unified Model of Electronic
Government Adoption (extended UMEGA). The model is tested using data obtained from 391
people. The findings show that computer self-efficacy, social impact, and performance expectations
have a positive and significant effect, while perceived risk has a negative and significant effect on
attitude. Results also showed that while the confidence in government and trust in the internet did
not have a significant effect on perceived risk. However, it did have a significant and positive effect
on performance expectations. The findings provide an understanding of the factors that legislators
can take into account when developing strategies.

Introduction
such as monitoring and preventing informality, improv­
Today, the impact of globalization, advances in technol­ ing the quality of public service, and creating a system
ogy, and Internet-based spread have created suitable that saves time and reduces costs. Cloud-based account­
conditions for the emergence of cloud accounting ing applications can provide fast and secure communi­
(Dimitriu & Matei, 2014). Adapting to cloud account­ cation and produce standard reports. Also, these
ing, one of the developments brought by the informa­ applications can effortlessly produce coherent, compar­
tion age has been important for both processing and able, verifiable national and international financial
public administrations. In this context, governments information (Şençiçek, 2013). However, the adoption
around the world are investing time and manpower in of cloud-based accounting practices by businesses with
information technology (IT) in order to provide services limited resources has led to a number of risks and
over the internet (Bhuasiri et al., 2016). problems. Problems such as lack of infrastructure, secur­
Cloud-based accounting applications constitute ity concerns, lack of qualified personnel, adaptation of
a significant portion of the investments made in infor­ changes in legislation to information systems
mation and communication technologies. Electronic (Karasioğlu & Garip, 2019) are factors that affect users‘
documents (e-document) and electronic ledger (e-led­ adoption of cloud-based accounting services. Identifying
ger) services, whose implementation is mandated by the factors affecting cloud-based accounting services can
Ministry of Finance since 2010 in Turkey, compose improve users’ attitude towards using e-documents
cloud-based accounting services. Electronic documents and e-ledger.
being applied; electronic invoice (e-invoice), electronic The main motivation of this study is to explore the
archive invoice (e-archive), electronic dispatch (e-dis­ factors affecting users’ willingness to adopt cloud-based
patch), electronic passenger list (e-passenger list), elec­ accounting services, by examining the adoption of these
tronic self-employment voucher (e-self-employment services from a theoretical as well as an empirical per­
voucher), electronic ticket (e-ticket), electronic producer spective. In most studies that examine the adoption of
receipt (e-producer Receipt), electronic Insurance Policy cloud-based accounting applications, the focus is on
(e-insurance policy), electronic exchange receipt a single application and its adoption at the enterprise/
(e-exchange receipt), and electronic expense voucher firm level (Lian, 2015). Cloud-based accounting services
(e-expense voucher). in Turkey contain many applications, and since they are
Many governments have imposed an obligation to closely associated with each other, it is more suitable to
implement cloud-based accounting services for reasons examine the applications as a whole. In this study,

CONTACT Meltem Altin [email protected] Graduate School of Business, Sakarya University, Sakarya, Turkey.
© 2021 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
2 M. ALTIN AND R. YILMAZ

instead of a single application, the adoption of all cloud- spread of cloud computing technologies, one of the key
based accounting applications is examined and with services that governments have provided is cloud-based
individual-level focus. accounting applications, which is mandatory to imple­
Many models have been developed for the adoption ment. Governments are determined to use e-document
of technology, however, among the models suggested for and e-ledger applications, which are electronic account­
e-government UMEGA surpassed all other models with ing applications, in order to establish an audit infra­
its performance. Werkijika et al., 2018 improved the structure in electronic environment, to prevent
original UMEGA model by adding more critical factors informality by monitoring, to reduce costs arising from
and introduced the Extended UMEGA model. This the use of ledgers and documents, and to increase the
study proposes an integrated research model based on quality of public service.
Extended UMEGA, which was tested using experimental
data. In the proposed model, the relationship between
Cloud-based accounting applications in Turkey
trust and performance expectation, which is rarely con­
sidered in models though we believe it to be very impor­ Developments in the public sphere of cloud computing
tant, has been examined. Also, to the best of our in Turkey began to gain momentum with the decision
knowledge, this relationship is being tested for the first taken at the 25th meeting of the Supreme Council for
time in the adoption of cloud-based accounting applica­ Science and Technology (SCST), established on
tions. Therefore, the fundamental research questions of October 4, 1983. The aim of the decision taken by
our study; 1) What are the critical factors that signifi­ SCST on the establishment of the Turkish public
cantly affect the adoption of cloud-based accounting Integrated Data Center is to establish a single data center
applications? 2) In the adoption of cloud-based account­ as a result of the unification of the data centers of all
ing applications does trust have an effect on perfor­ public institutions (“Cloud Computing”, 2013).
mance expectancy? Government websites of Turkey are in constant
The remaining sections of the paper are organized as renewal and development, at first the purpose of these
follows: The literature on cloud accounting, cloud-based websites was to provide consistent, standard informa­
accounting applications and factors in adoption, tion such as laws and regulations, the organizational
research model and hypothesis development, research structure of the institution, announcements. After the
methodology, results and data analysis, discussions and government policies on electronic services, electronic
conclusion, and limitations. applications were added to these websites. Among the
strategies determined in the 2016–2019 National
e-Government Strategy and Action Plan, which takes
Literature review into account new technological developments and global
trends, is the decision to realize the e-transformation of
Cloud accounting
public services (http://www.sp.gov.tr). One of the
Cloud computing, which allows access to applications e-transformation applications carried out in public ser­
and data storage located in various locations, is defined vices in Turkey is e-document and e-ledger applications.
as the delivery of computer structures and software With these applications, the obligation of users to keep
applications over the internet (Dimitriu & Matei, a physical copy of their legal ledger and documents has
2014). A special type of cloud computing is cloud been removed, and storing these documents in digital
accounting which is designed specifically for processing environments became mandatory.
financial data (Yau-Yeung et al., 2020). Research sug­ The second paragraph of repeated article 242 in Tax
gests that cloud-based Accounting Information Systems Procedure Law states that; The Ministry of Treasury and
(AIS) can provide many beneficial capabilities such as Finance has the authority to create, record, transmit,
easy access and advanced data processing capabilities for keep and regulate electronic ledgers, documents, and
companies over traditional systems (Oliveira et al., records. As explained in the General Communiqué No.
2014). 509 of the Tax Procedure Law, by establishing electronic
Government agencies around the world are trying to document infrastructure the Revenue Administration
take advantage of advances in technology to better serve aims to monitor, analyze, report on economic activities
their citizens. Research has stated that cloud computing in the electronic environment, create an audit infra­
technology (Smitha et al., 2012), which has recently structure in the electronic environment, reduce costs
become popular as a tool in government-provided ser­ arising from the use of paper ledgers and documents,
vices, can improve government performance and help create a standard format for documents, create a safe,
offer new services (Hashemi, 2013). With the rapid time and cost-saving system between the parties of the
 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION 3

issued document, to increase the quality of public ser­ Critical factors for cloud-based services adoption
vice, to increase the speed of taxpayers’ transactions, to
Models that are widely used and accepted by researchers
increase taxpayers’ compliance with tax laws, and to
in the adoption of information systems are Technology
prevent informality by monitoring.
Acceptance Model (TAM) (Davis, 1989), Theory of
The Revenue Administration has defined e-docu­
Planned Behavior (TPB) (Ajzen, 1991), the decomposed
ments as; e-Invoice, “ is an electronic document con­
TPB (DTPB) (Ajzen, 1991), Extended Technology
taining the information that should be included in an
Acceptance Model (TAM2) (Venkatesh & Davis,
invoice, where the transmission between the seller and
2000), The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of
the buyer is carried out over a central platform”;
Technology (UTAUT) (Venkatesh et al., 2003), The
e-Archive, “electronic invoices that are drawn up due
Unified Acceptance and Use Theory (UTAUT2)
to the sale of goods and service performance for tax­
(Lallmahomed et al., 2017; Venkatesh et al., 2012). The
payers and non-taxpayers who are not registered in
UTAUT model was developed to help understand users’
the e-invoice system.”; e-Dispatch, “delivery note cre­
acceptance of information systems. Performance expec­
ated in electronic document format”; e-Self-
tation, effort expectation, social impact, and facilitating
Employment Voucher, “Self-employment voucher cre­
conditions which are moderated by age, gender, experi­
ated as e-document”; e-Producer Receipt, “a docu­
ence, and volunteering are the main determinants of the
ment drawn up by taxpayers engaged in the fruit
intention to use and actual use of technology (Venkatesh
and vegetable trade as a merchant”; e-Passenger List,
et al., 2003). Recently, many studies have been con­
“electronically kept and presented land, sea and air
ducted in different services such as mobile payment
passenger list document”; e-Ticket, “ electronic docu­
(M-payment) (Al-Saedi et al., 2020), e-health/mobile
ment drawn up as ticket for cinema, theater, sports
health (Alam et al., 2018; Hoque & Sorwar, 2017), inter­
competition etc. events”; e-Insurance Policy “ electro­
net banking (Rahi et al., 2019), mobile banking
nic insurance policy that can be issued by all insur­
(M-banking) (Raza et al., 2019), e-Learning (Salloum &
ance companies”; e-Exchange Receipt, “electronic
Shaalan, 2018) and e-government (Al Mansoori et al.,
currency exchange certificate”; e-Receipt, “electronic
2018; Rabaa’i, 2017) using the UTAUT model to exam­
receipt issued by banks (“E-documents”, 2020). The
ine information system acceptance.
Revenue Administration has defined E-ledger as
With the development of technology and the
“Electronic preparation of the ledgers that are manda­
emergence of different application areas, researchers
tory in accordance with the Tax Procedure Law and
emphasized that a unified model should be developed
the provisions of the Turkish Commercial Code”
by stating the lack of fundamental theoretical devel­
(“E-ledger”, 2020).
opment (Chan et al., 2011; Dwivedi et al., 2017).
The first service obliged by the Revenue
Dwivedi et al. (2017) stated that although the struc­
Administration is the e-invoice. While transitioning
tures of the UTAUT model consisted mostly of the
to e-invoice services, at first only businesses with
structures of previous technology adoption models,
certain annual returns or operating in a certain sector
the performance of UTAUT model on e-government
could have created, sent, and accepted e-invoices.
adoption is lower than expected. To explain the poor
The e-invoice, which was previously only mandatory
performance of UTAUT model authors concluded
for large-scale enterprises, is now mandatory for
that the adoption of information systems was differ­
small-scale businesses, and the user scope is to be
ent from the adoption of e-government services and
further expanded. As the government policy adopts
emphasized the need to develop a unified model
a gradual dissemination principle, over time other
specific to e-government, later introducing the
e-documents and e-ledger have been included in the
UMEGA model. Moreover, Dwivedi et al. (2017)
applications.
stated that theoretical modifications to UMEGA
The cloud-based accounting services reform of the
government is not only a technical renewal but also should be made to better suit different applications
a new cultural change. This reform requires a change and other countries or regions. In this context,
in the perspective and approach of both the govern­ Verkijika and De Wet (2018) emphasized the impor­
ment and the citizens, it also prioritizes the use of tance of computer self-efficacy and perceived trust
information and communication technologies in all factors in the adoption of e-government services in
fields. In this context, the state has implemented sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and suggested the
many electronic applications and develops these expanded UMEGA model. The UMEGA model has
applications in the face of changing and developing been implemented and validated in studies on the
sociological needs and demands over time. adoption of e-government services (Avazov & Lee,
4 M. ALTIN AND R. YILMAZ

2020; Mensah et al., 2020). Recently, Mensah et al. applications. The research model used in the study is
(2020) further expanded the UMEGA model by add­ given in Figure 1.
ing perceived service quality, trust in government, On the other hand, Lian (2015) stated that while there
and intention to recommend factors. are many studies (Hernandez-Ortega, 2011; Vrcek &
Magdalenic, 2011) focused on the enterprise/firm-level
adoption of e-invoice, very little research is focused on
Research model and hypotheses
the individuals. The study emphasized that there is
Even though cloud computing technologies offer many a research gap on the individual focused studies on the
benefits for accounting firms, the majority of firms have adoption of cloud-based applications. This study focuses
become accustomed to running their business in the on the adoption of cloud-based accounting applications
traditional way and resist the adoption of new technol­ by individual users. Crucial factors such as computer
ogies. Quinn et al. (2014) investigated the effect of cloud self-efficacy, social influence, perceived risk, perfor­
technology on management accounting and concluded mance expectation, attitude, behavioral intention, trust
that the cloud provides benefits such as improved deci­ in government, trust in the internet were included in the
sion-making and cost-effectiveness to small and med­ scope of this study.
ium-sized enterprises (SMEs). However, the study also Computer self-efficacy refers to a person’s perception
mentioned that financial transactions were limited and of their ability to use the computer to complete certain
security concerns prevented widespread adoption of tasks (Sam et al., 2005). Computer self-efficacy has been
cloud-based AIS. Supporting these findings, Ali et al., identified as an important factor in studies on the adop­
2015 emphasized that there are some disadvantages to tion of new technologies (Khayer et al., 2020).
using cloud-based AIS, such as security and privacy Computer self-efficacy for cloud-based services can
risks. The expanded UMEGA (Verkijika & De Wet, be defined as the skill of an individual in the tools
2018) introduced trust and risk perceptions which are they use to benefit from cloud-based services. People
important factors in technology adoption and was with higher computer self-efficacy are more inter­
selected to be the most fitting base model for this ested in using IT-related applications (Compeau &
study. Although the proposed model is based on the Higgins, 1995). They also tend to be more comforta­
expanded UMEGA, it has several important modifica­ ble acquiring innovative information from technol­
tions. In studies conducted on e-commerce (Cody-Allen ogy-based sources (Spatar et al., 2019; Thongsri et al.,
& Kishore, 2006) and e-government (Kurfalı et al., 2017; 2019). Khayer et al. (2020) stated that senior execu­
Mensah & Adams, 2020) a positive and significant effect tives with higher computer self-efficacy are more
of trust factor on performance expectation was found. likely to adopt cloud computing in their businesses.
H10 and H11 hypothesis were added to the research Considering that people with advanced computer
model to see if such a relationship exists in the adoption self-efficacy will easily understand the functions of
of cloud-based accounting applications; to the best of cloud-based accounting services and their attitude
our knowledge, these hypotheses are being tested for the towards using such systems will be positive, we pro­
first time in the adoption of cloud-based accounting pose the following hypothesis;

Computer
Self-efficacy
H1

Social Behavioral
H2 Attitude H4
Influence Intention

H3 H5
Perfomance
Expectation Perceived Risk
H8 H9

H6 H7
H11 H10
Trust in Trust in the
Government Internet

Figure 1. Research model.

 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION 5

H1: Computer self-efficacy has a positive effect on users’ source of a belief is a function of its perceived attitude
attitude towards using cloud-based accounting services. towards the action in question (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1972).
Davis et al., 1989 assumed that there is a strong relation­
Social influence refers to the individual’s perception that ship between an individual’s behavioral intention and an
people who are important to them (family, friends, and individual’s attitude towards using the system.
colleagues) believe that the individual should use the The effect of attitude on behavioral intention in tech­
new system (Venkatesh et al., 2003, 2012). The positive nology adoption has been supported by studies in var­
and significant effect of social influence on attitude in ious fields such as digital learning (Pynoo et al., 2011),
technology adoption has been supported in many stu­ mobile banking (m-banking) (Frimpong et al., 2017),
dies (Dwivedi et al., 2017; Ojo et al., 2019; Šumak et al., and e-government (Verkijika & De Wet, 2018). Xie
2010; Verkijika & De Wet, 2018). For example, in the et al. (2017), Susanto and Goodwin (2013) found that
study (Ojo et al., 2019) on the adoption of Green in e-government adoption, the attitude factor has a high
Information Technology (GIT) which was conducted correlation with behavioral intention. Consequently, we
on IT professionals working in ISO 14001 certified IT assume that a user’s attitude towards the adoption of
companies in Malaysia, the direct impact of social influ­ cloud-based accounting services will positively affect
ence on GIT attitude was emphasized. Verkijika and De their behavioral intention and propose the following
Wet (2018) and Dwivedi et al. (2017) concluded that hypothesis;
social impact significantly affects attitude by using the
unified electronic state adoption model in the adoption H4: Attitude has a positive effect on users’ behavioral
of e-government services. With the increasing wide­ intention to use cloud-based accounting services.
spread use of cloud-based services, the following
hypothesis has been proposed, with the idea that social Perceived risk refers to an individual’s evaluation of the
impact will increase the effect of users on their adoption risk of a negative outcome (Warkentin et al., 2002). In
of these services. studies conducted on the adoption of e-government
services perceived risk is accepted as an important factor
H2: Social influence has a positive effect on users’ atti­ that has a negative and significant effect on attitude
tude towards using cloud-based accounting services. (Dwivedi et al., 2017; Susanto & Goodwin, 2013).
These studies also show that individuals are less likely
Performance expectation is a strong determinant of to adopt e-government services when they perceive
a person’s willingness to adopt/use a technology that high-level risk. Warkentin et al. (2002) argued that redu­
will help improve their performance (Ooi et al., 2018). cing PR could increase the user’s attitude towards e-ser­
It was emphasized that people with high-performance vices adoption.
expectations are more likely to adopt e-government Perceived risk refers to an individual’s degree of con­
services (Carter & Bélanger, 2005). Performance expec­ cern when adopting new systems such as cloud-based
tation has been found to be an important determinant accounting systems. Users that perceive high-risk
affecting an individual’s attitude towards adopting an develop a negative attitude when implementing cloud-
e-government system (Dwivedi et al., 2017; Verkijika & based accounting services, which can lead to a decrease
De Wet, 2018). Performance expectation in the adoption in the tendency to use these services. In this context, the
of cloud-based services is the individual believes that following hypothesis is suggested.
using cloud-based services will increase the efficiency,
performance, quality of their work. Considering that an H5: Perceived risk has a negative effect on users’ attitude
individual’s belief in the notion that cloud-based towards using cloud-based accounting services.
accounting services will increase their performance has
a positive effect on the adoption of cloud-based account­ Trust is referred to as the amount of risk a person is
ing services, we propose the following hypothesis; willing to take (Mayer et al., 1995). Previous research has
found that trust has a direct and negative effect on
H3: Performance expectation has a positive effect on perceived risk while security concerns have a direct
users’ attitude towards using cloud-based accounting and positive effect on perceived risk (Chang & Chen,
services. 2008; Kim et al., 2008). Milne et al. (2004) strongly
associated three risks that people who interact with
An individual’s intention to perform a certain behavior online organizations are bound to face; The risk of
is dependent on their attitude and on beliefs about what hacking data stored on people’s computers is defined
others expect of them. It has also been suggested that the as the risk of preventing data transfer to an online
6 M. ALTIN AND R. YILMAZ

organization and illegal access to personal data stored in technology has a positive and significant effect on users’
corporate electronic databases. The reason many citi­ attitude, the following hypotheses are proposed.
zens are reluctant to adopt e-government services can be
attributed to the perceived insecurity of their online H8: Trust in government has a positive effect on users’
transactions and concerns about the use of electronic attitude towards using cloud-based accounting services.
documents (Bélanger & Carter, 2008). Therefore, secur­
ity concerns regarding e-government services are H9: Trust in the internet has a positive effect on users’
expected to directly affect perceived risk. Based on the attitude towards using cloud-based accounting services.
discussion above, this study proposes trust in govern­
ment and trust in the internet as one of the important A positive and significant relationship between trust
factors that affects perceived risk. To better understand and performance expectation has been supported in
the impact of users’ trust and risk perceptions on the previous studies (Cody-Allen & Kishore, 2006;
adoption of cloud-based accounting services, we pro­ Kurfalı et al., 2017; Mensah & Adams, 2020; Zhou,
pose the following hypothesis; 2014). In relation to an individual’s intention to use
an e-commerce system, a link between trust beliefs
H6: Trust in government has a negative effect on users’ and performance expectancy has been determined
perceived risk towards using cloud-based accounting (Cody-Allen & Kishore, 2006). Zhou, 2014 empha­
services. sized that trust can affect performance expectation.
He also stated that when users trust mobile pay­
H7: Trust in the internet has a negative effect on users’ ments, they believe they can gain positive benefits
perceived risk towards using cloud-based accounting in the future such as an increase in performance
services. and productivity, but if they do not trust mobile
payments, they do not expect a positive benefit.
Ajzen and Fishbein (1972), state that beliefs affect inten­ Trust in government has mostly been examined from
tions and intentions affect one’s actions. There are sev­ two aspects: trust in government and technology/inter­
eral studies investigating the relationship between trust net (Kurfalı et al., 2017; Lian, 2015; Verkijika & De Wet,
and behavioral intention (Carter & Bélanger, 2005; 2018). In their study on the adoption of e-government
Lallmahomed et al., 2017; Lian, 2015; Al Mansoori services, Kurfalı et al. (2017) revealed that trust in gov­
et al., 2018; Mensah & Adams, 2020; Pavlou, 2003). ernment and the internet is an important determinant of
Carter and Bélanger (2005), Pavlou (2003) emphasized performance expectation. It has been shown that both
that trust in government consists of the traditional view trust in the internet and trust in government has
of trust in a particular entity (trust in government) as a positive effect on performance expectation. Assuming
well as trust in the reliability of the technology that that trust in government and trust in the internet does
enables it (trust in the internet). The trust in the internet have a positive and significant effect on performance
has been consistently identified as a key predictor of expectation in adopting cloud-based accounting sys­
e-service adoption (Pavlou, 2003; Warkentin et al., tems, we suggest the following hypothesis;
2002). Trust in government refers to a person’s percep­
tion of the integrity and capability of the institution that H10: Trust in government has a positive effect on users’
provides the service (McKnight et al., 2002). performance expectation towards using cloud-based
For widespread adoption of cloud-based accounting accounting services.
services, users’ trust in the organization’s ability to pro­
vide online services is essential. In this context, govern­ H11: Trust in the internet has a positive effect on users’
ment agencies need to convince users which will performance expectation towards using cloud-based
implement cloud-based accounting services that the sys­ accounting services.
tem has necessary technical resources, that users’ benefits
are taken into account, that it will provide more conve­
nient and faster service, and that compared to traditional
methods costs will be lower. An individual’s belief is Research methodology
assumed to be determined by his attitude towards using
Data collection
the system (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1972). Previous studies
concluded that users’ trust has an effect on their attitude The research model was tested on individuals, that are
when adopting new technology (Hung et al., 2006; Wu & knowledgeable and competent in cloud-based accounting
Chen, 2005). Assuming that trust in government and practices, who work in accounting departments of
 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION 7

businesses that operate in Turkey. Participation in the Data analysis and results
survey was completely voluntary and individuals were
The Variance-based Partial Least Squares (PLS) Structural
invited to participate through e-mail. Convenience sam­
Equation Modeling (SEM) used as an analysis method is
pling method was used to collect data. A pilot study was
a structural equation modeling technique that can analyze
conducted from May to June 2020. Once the result of the
multicomponent structures and explain complex relation­
pilot study confirmed the validity of the scales and the
ships (Gefen et al., 2000). Most recent studies on technol­
reliability of the research, a large-scale survey was
ogy adoption have been tested using the PLS-SEM
executed.
approach (Bhuasiri et al., 2016; Khayer et al., 2020;
Since it is not possible to determine the number of
Lallmahomed et al., 2017; Lian, 2015; Verkijika & De
people who meet the participation conditions of the
Wet, 2018). Variance Based PLS-SEM approach has been
study, the number of people in the target population is
accepted as the most appropriate approach since it has the
not exactly known. When the number of units that make
ability to simultaneously examine a number of relation­
up the target population is not known or the size of the
ships compared to other statistical methods such as multi­
population is too large, the accepted sample size is deter­
ple regression or multivariate analysis (Hair et al., 2016).
mined as 384 using the table of acceptable sample sizes
(d = ± 0.05 sampling error and at p = .05, q = 0.05 con­
fidence intervals) (Altunışık et al., 2004, p. 125). In this
Demographics statistics
study, questionnaires were distributed to 436 people who
fit the participation conditions. However, because of the Demographic analysis results revealed that 77.2% of the
incomplete or incorrectly filled questionnaires, a total participants were male and 22.8% were female. In the
number of 391 questionnaires were evaluated. A large- survey, in which participants over the age of 19 were
scale survey was carried out between June and accepted, the 30–40 age group is the age group with the
October 2020. highest number of people, making up 44.2% of the total
participants. Most of the participants (64.2%) have more
than 3 years of work experience. Also, only 4.9% of the
Measurement scales
participants do not have a bachelor’s degree. Details of
All of the data used in the study were collected using participant statistics are presented in Table 1.
the survey method. The questionnaire form is made
up of two sections. In the first section, there are
expressions to measure the social statistic (demo­ Measurement model
graphic characteristics) of the participants. In In order to determine whether the research results are
the second section of the questionnaire, there are reliable and the scales used in the study are valid, the
scales created to evaluate the factors that form the data and the structural model are primarily analyzed in
proposed research model. The scales that make up terms of composite reliability, internal consistency relia­
the questionnaire were obtained from the past litera­ bility, convergent validity, and discriminant validity.
ture. The items for behavioral intentions and social Cronbach’s alpha, a measure of reliability and internal
influence were adapted from Verkijika and De Wet consistency, is used to test how closely items of a factor
(2018), Venkatesh et al. (2012). Attitude and per­
ceived risk item were adapted from Verkijika and
De Wet (2018), Dwivedi et al. (2017). Performance Table 1. Demographics.
Variable Count (%)
expectancy items were adapted from Davis (1989),
Gender
Venkatesh et al. (2003), Lian (2015). Items for trust Male 302 (77.2%)
in government and trust in the internet were adapted Female 89 (22.8%)
Age
from Verkijika and De Wet (2018), Lallmahomed 20–30 years old 127 (32.5%)
et al. (2017), and items for computer-self efficacy 30–40 years old 173 (44.2%)
were adapted from Verkijika and De Wet (2018), Over 40 years old 91 (23.3%)
Education
Lallmahomed et al. (2017). Postgraduate (above degree) 115 (29.4%)
The 5-point Likert scale in this study is ranked as Undergraduate degree 257 (65.7%)
Higher education diploma 16 (4.1%)
“strongly disagree, disagree, undecided, agree and strongly High school diploma or below 3 (.8%)
agree,” in ascending order. A literature review was carried Work experience
0–1 years 37 (9.5%)
out and feedback from expert academicians and practi­ 1–3 years 103 (26.3%)
tioners was used to determine the scales to collect data 4–10 years 132 (33.8%)
Over 10 years 119 (30.4%)
with.
8 M. ALTIN AND R. YILMAZ

are related (Cronbach, 1970). Cronbach alpha has Table 3. Fornell–Larcker criterion.
a range of 0 to 1, where higher values imply higher Mean S.D. PR CS TG BI TI PE SI AT
reliability. However, reliability of the factors is accepta­ PR 2.42 1.01 0.85
CS 4.46 0.60 (0.09) 0.88
ble if the Cronbach alpha value for each item is greater TG 3.88 0.89 (0.02) 0.29 0.88
than or equal to 0.70 (Hair et al., 2006). As shown in BI 4.54 0.49 (0.18) 0.68 0.38 0.85
TI 3.72 0.81 (0.02) 0.30 0.66 0.38 0.84
Table 2, the Cronbach’s alpha of the factors in the study PE 4.31 0.62 (0.11) 0.57 0.50 0.70 0.48 0.86
how internal consistency since their values vary between SI 4.12 0.77 (0.04) 0.49 0.52 0.50 0.50 0.61 0.87
AT 4.50 0.49 (0.28) 0.59 0.48 0.75 0.49 0.75 0.57 0.87
0.71 (trust in government) and 0.88 (performance
expectation).
Fornell and Larcker (1981) suggested that the com­
posite reliability (CR) value should exceed 0.70 and the the other factor loads. Therefore, the second condition
Average variance extracted (AVE) value should exceed of discrimination validity is also verified.
0.50 in the tests performed to measure the convergent
validity. Standardized road loads for all indicators
Structural model
should be above 0.55 (Falk & Miller, 1992). PR1 was
deleted due to its low road load and the model was As with other PLS-based studies, the bootstrapping
reassessed. As can be seen in Table 2, road loads of all method was used to examine the direct effect of one
structures are greater than 0.7 and most of the loads variable on the other variables in terms of statistics.
exceed 0.8, meanwhile, CR (0.87 to 0.92) and AVE (0.71 Creating a bigger new sample set by resampling the
to 0.78) values are above acceptable levels. base sample is called bootstrapping. Bootstrapping
The validity of discrimination examines whether allows us to evaluate the sample group as a population
there is a differentiation among the factors which consist by calculating significance levels between the paths from
of items and whether a factor exhibits a structure differ­ the resampled bigger sample set (Henseler et al., 2016).
ent from the other factors in statistical terms. Two con­ Path analysis was used to analyze the hypotheses in the
ditions are required to ensure discrimination validity: research model from a statistical perspective. The PLS
(1) The correlation value of each factor with other fac­ method was used to handle these relationships. In the
tors must be less than the square root of the AVE value PLS method, structural models and hypotheses are
of that factor. (2) The factor loads of the items collected examined using path coefficients, significance levels,
under the same factor should be greater than the other t-statistics, and values for effect sizes in lower-upper
factor loads (Fornell & Larcker, 1981; Limayem & confidence intervals. Significance of the cause–effect
Cheung, 2008). Table 3 contains findings showing the relationship between one variable and another variable
first condition of discrimination validity, and Table 4 is decided by considering these values.
shows the second condition of discrimination validity. Structural model estimation and evaluation of the
Table 3 demonstrates the first condition of discrimi­ defined hypotheses are given in Figure 2. The results
nation validity, the correlation of the factor with other demonstrate that computer self-efficacy (H1: β = 0.19;
factors is less than the square root of the AVE value of p <.001), social impact (H2: β = 0.08; p <.05), perfor­
each factor. Therefore, the first condition of discrimina­ mance expectation (H3: β = 0.49; p <.001) and perceived
tion validity according to Fornell & Lacker criterion is risk (H5: β = 0.21; p <.001) have a significant and
fulfilled according to these conditions. positive effect on attitude. Furthermore, attitude (H4:
Table 4 shows cross loading values which are useful β = 0.75; p <.001) also has a significant and positive effect
when examining the second condition of discrimination on behavioral intention. While trust in government has
validity. Results point out that the factor loads of the no significant effect on perceived risk (H6: β = 0.05;
items collected under the same factor are greater than p greater than 0.05) or attitude (H8: β = 0.03; greater
than 0.05), it has a significant and positive effect on
performance expectation (H10: β = 0.33; p <.001).
Table 2. Validity and reliability. Trust in the internet also has a significant and positive
Variables CR AVE Factor loading Cronbach’s α effect on attitude (H9: β = 0.12; p <.01) and performance
Perceived risk (PR) 0.88 0.72 0.84–0.85 0.80 expectancy (H11: β = 0.26; p <.001), but does not have
Computer self-efficacy (CS) 0.92 0.78 0.84–0.92 0.86
Trust in government (TG) 0.87 0.77 0.88–0.88 0.71 a significant effect on perceived risk (H7: β = 0.01;
Behavioral Intention (BI) 0.89 0.73 0.81–0.88 0.81 p greater than 0.05).
Trust in the internet (TI) 0.88 0.71 0.82–0.88 0.80
Performance expectation (PE) 0.92 0.73 0.74–0.90 0.88 While evaluating the proposed model in Smart PLS,
Social influence (SI) 0.90 0.76 0.82–0.91 0.84 the following automatically generated indirect effects
Attitude (AT) 0.90 0.76 0.87–0.87 0.84
were also observed. Analysis results of these indirect
 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION 9

Table 4. Cross loadings.

Construct F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 F6 F7 F8
Perceived risk
PR1 0.85 (0.12) (0.01) (0.17) 0.04 (0.12) (0.05) (0.26)
PR2 0.84 (0.04) (0.02) (0.14) (0.03) (0.04) (0.03) (0.21)
PR3 0.85 (0.07) (0.03) (0.15) (0.05) (0.10) (0.03) (0.25)
Computer self-efficacy
CS1 (0.09) 0.84 0.24 0.55 0.27 0.40 0.37 0.44
CS2 (0.09) 0.92 0.27 0.64 0.28 0.53 0.45 0.54
CS3 (0.07) 0.89 0.25 0.60 0.26 0.58 0.48 0.56
Trust in government
TG1 (0.04) 0.26 0.88 0.34 0.58 0.43 0.41 0.42
TG2 0.00 0.24 0.88 0.33 0.58 0.45 0.51 0.41
Behavioral intention
BI1 (0.17) 0.56 0.32 0.81 0.27 0.50 0.38 0.57
BI2 (0.17) 0.58 0.29 0.88 0.32 0.53 0.43 0.63
BI3 (0.12) 0.58 0.37 0.86 0.36 0.73 0.48 0.70
Trust in the internet
TI1 (0.01) 0.26 0.59 0.33 0.84 0.40 0.41 0.44
TI2 (0.03) 0.17 0.58 0.24 0.82 0.38 0.38 0.35
TI3 0.00 0.33 0.52 0.37 0.88 0.43 0.46 0.43
Performance expectation
PE1 (0.08) 0.33 0.43 0.45 0.41 0.74 0.50 0.48
PE2 (0.08) 0.50 0.45 0.61 0.40 0.89 0.48 0.70
PE3 (0.10) 0.59 0.43 0.7 0.40 0.90 0.56 0.70
PE4 (0.11) 0.51 0.40 0.6 0.42 0.88 0.54 0.68
Social influence
SI1 (0.01) 0.39 0.43 0.41 0.41 0.49 0.82 0.46
SI2 (0.06) 0.40 0.51 0.45 0.44 0.53 0.89 0.49
SI3 (0.04) 0.49 0.43 0.46 0.45 0.57 0.91 0.54
Attitude
AT1 (0.26) 0.53 0.44 0.69 0.47 0.63 0.52 0.87
AT2 (0.23) 0.46 0.43 0.64 0.42 0.73 0.46 0.87
AT3 (0.25) 0.54 0.38 0.61 0.39 0.60 0.51 0.87

Computer
Self-efficacy
0.19***

Behavioral
Social Attitude
0.08* 0.75*** Intention
Influence R2=67%
R2=56%

0.49*** (0.21)***
Perfomance
Expectation
R2=29%
0.05 Perceived Risk 0.12**

(0.03) (0.01)
0.26** 0.33***
Trust in Trust in the
Government Internet

: Significant
: Non-significant
* p<0.05; ** p<0.01; *** p<0.001

Figure 2. Structural model.

effects are given in Table 5. Results demonstrate that effect on attitude (H8), it has been observed to have
trust in government (β = 0.16; p <.001) and trust in the a positive and significant effect through the performance
internet (β = 0.13; p <.01) have a significant indirect expectation role. However, the total indirect effect of
effect on attitude through performance expectation fac­ trust in the internet on attitude through perceived risk
tor. Although trust in government does not have a direct factor is not significant.
10 M. ALTIN AND R. YILMAZ

Table 5. Total indirect effects introduced in the proposed model. important factors, which is performance expectation
Total indirect effect Path coefficient (β) t-value Signif (p) (H3 hypothesis), was supported. By keeping e-docu­
TI -> PR -> AT 0,00 0,08 0.986 ments and e-ledgers in digital environment, workload
TG -> PE -> AT 0,16 4,23*** 0.000
TI -> PE -> AT 0,13 3,14** 0.002 can be reduced due to the ease of archiving and
* p < 0.05 storing documents and ledgers, problems arising
** p < 0.01 from documents between the buyer and seller can be
***p < 0.001
eliminated, recording process can be shortened and
recording errors can be reduced (Şençiçek, 2013). We
believe that because of these improvements, perfor­
Discussions and implications
mance expectation has a significant and positive effect
Although factors discussed in this study are based on on attitude.
the expanded UMEGA model proposed by Verkijika Results show that the perceived risk (H5) has
and De Wet (2018), various modifications were pro­ a direct significant and negative effect on attitude.
posed and a total of eleven hypotheses were defined. The significant and negative impact of perceived
Table 6 presents the test results of the hypotheses. Out risk on attitude indicates that it negatively affects
of eleven proposed hypotheses, only eight were sup­ users’ feelings about using cloud-based accounting
ported. One of the modifications that we see as impor­ services. This result is similar to some studies con­
tant in this study is that trust in government (H10) and ducted (Dwivedi et al., 2017; Verkijika & De Wet,
trust in the internet (H11) has a positive and significant 2018; Xie et al., 2017). However, we see that trust in
effect on performance expectations. In the studies con­ government has no direct effect on perceived risk
ducted (Kurfalı et al., 2017; Mensah & Adams, 2020), (H8) or attitude (H6). Also, the total indirect effect
the significant effect of trust in government and trust in of trust in government on attitude through perceived
the internet on performance expectation has been sup­ risk factor is not significant. This situation differs
ported. In addition, trust in government and trust in from Verkijika and De Wet (2018)’s study on the
the internet through performance expectation have adoption of e-government services in SSA.
a significant and positive effect on attitude. Moreover, we see that trust in the internet does not
The results shown in Table 6 show that computer have a significant effect on perceived risk (H7), but
self-efficacy, performance expectation, and perceived has a significant and positive effect on attitude (H9).
risk are critical factors for adopting cloud-based We also see that the total indirect effect of trust in
accounting services. Lian (2015) concluded that the the internet on attitude through perceived risk factor
performance expectation factor is not a critical factor is not significant. From this case, we can deduce that
in the adoption of cloud-based e-invoicing applica­ users who perceive high risks develop a negative
tions in Taiwan. He attributed this to the fact that attitude in using cloud-based accounting services,
Taiwan’s e-invoicing was still in a transitional period but their trust in government or trust in the internet
and e-invoices and traditional paper invoices could be does not affect their perception of risk.
used in parallel, and the choice was left to the citi­ Results also show that social influence (H2) has
zens. In his work, he suggested repeating the study a significant and positive effect on attitude. Previous
when e-invoices were fully implemented. In our studies have supported this conclusion by showing that
study, different from Lian’s work, one of the social influence is a factor influencing technology adop­
tion and use (Dwivedi et al., 2017; Ojo et al., 2019;
Šumak et al., 2010; Verkijika & De Wet, 2018). The effect
Table 6. Overall analysis. of social influence shows that users can be impacted by
Hypotheses Path coefficient (β) t-Value Support colleagues or other users when adopting the system. In
H1: CS -> AT 0,19 4,11*** YES
H2: SI -> AT 0,08 1,99* YES
their study on an examination of e-tax filing and pay­
H3: PE -> AT 0,49 8,70*** YES ment system in Thailand, Bhuasiri et al. (2016) stated
H4: AT -> BI 0,75 18,41*** YES that social influence has a significant and positive effect
H5: PR -> AT (0,21) 6,30*** YES
H6: TG -> PR (0,03) 0,41 NO on behavioral intention. He emphasized that the use of
H7: TI -> PR (0,01) 0,08 NO compulsory technology in a particular cultural context
H8: TG-> AT 0,05 1,23 NO
H9: TI -> AT 0,12 3,04** YES may affect the relationship between social influence and
H10: TG -> PE 0,33 4,68*** YES behavioral intention. Similarly, there is a legal obligation
H11: TI -> PE 0,26 3,48** YES
to use cloud-based accounting services in Turkey, and
* p < .05
** p < .01 we can also think that social influence will affect the
***p < .001 attitude of individuals.
 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION 11

Moreover, results also show that computer self- UMEGA model (R2 = 21.3%). Application of the
efficacy (H1) has a significant and positive effect on expanded UMEGA model to different disciplines
attitude. We can deduce that users with higher computer will contribute to the theoretical literature. The
self-efficacy will be more likely to adopt technologies like results of this study should be compared with future
cloud-based accounting applications. Studies on the studies and further tested on adoption of cloud-based
adoption of technology (Lu et al., 2016; Verkijika & De accounting services by adding different factors.
Wet, 2018) gave similar results, and it was emphasized
that individuals with high computer self-efficacy would
Implications for practice
positively affect the adoption of new technology.
With the development of cloud computing, govern­
ments are expanding both the number and scope of
Implications for theory
their applications on cloud-based accounting services.
Although many studies have been conducted in different This study validated that attitude toward cloud-based
countries and disciplines to test technology adoption accounting services positively determines the beha­
models, these models have fallen short in analyzing the vioral intention to use cloud-based accounting ser­
adoption of e-government. The UMEGA model devel­ vices. This indicates that the attitudes of users are an
oped by Dwivedi et al. (2017), which is based on important factor in adopting cloud-based accounting
UTAUT model, outperformed previous models in the services. Therefore, it is essential for the government
field of e-government. Verkijika and De Wet (2018) departments to develop positive cloud-based account­
introduced the expanded UMEGA, which was the first ing-related attitudes in citizens. Information and
extension of UMEGA, by adding trust and computing awareness training should be given to cloud-based
self-efficacy factors into the model. The authors also accounting-related individuals in order to break the
stated that even though UMEGA performs better than resistance that may occur against electronic transfor­
previous adoption models in the field of e-government, mation. With in-service training, users should be
it should be further improved. Mensah et al. (2020) informed about new developments at regular inter­
introduced a second extension to the UMEGA model vals. At the same time, it should be mandatory for
by adding perceived service quality, trust in government, related professions to participate in education
and intention to recommend factors. There are only programs.
a handful of studies on cloud-based accounting services, This study also indicates that the trust factor was an
therefore the models and factors need to be improved important determinant of performance expectation. This
and further studied. To fill the gap in the literature important finding implies that the more users trust in
regarding the adoption of cloud-based accounting ser­ government and the internet the more they believe the
vices, this study proposed and extension to expanded service will increase performance and productivity. The
UMEGA model. The proposed model is the first exten­ main factor that will lead the process of electronic trans­
sion of expanded UMEGA. formation to success is the awareness of the benefits
The most important modification we have made cloud-based accounting will provide to its users. In this
on expanded UMEGA is to examine the relationship context, it is beneficial for government agencies to con­
between trust and performance expectation. Lian tinuously improve their existing systems in a user-
(2015) concluded that performance expectation is friendly manner and inform users of the security mea­
not an important factor in the adoption of e-invoice. sures. For example, in Turkey, there are three different
However, in this study performance expectation was ways for companies to use the e-invoice service depend­
found to positively determine the attitude to use ing on the size and the infrastructure of the company. In
cloud-based accounting services. Furthermore, this one of these methods, medium-sized enterprises with
study indicates that trust has a positive and signifi­ insufficient technological infrastructure may choose to
cant effect on the performance expectation. The integrate into the Turkish Revenue Administration
examination of effect of trust on performance expec­ through a private company. Companies using this
tation is an important theoretical contribution since method have been concerned about their invoices,
this effect has not been explored in cloud-based which they consider as trade secrets, could be passed on
accounting adoption. In addition, the explanatory to competitors. To address these concerns, the press
power of performance expectation was found as release made by the Ministry of Finance stated that com­
0.29%. Moreover, the explanatory power of attitude panies wishing to become a private integrator must pass
(R2 = 67%) was found to be higher compared to the the necessary tests and implement certain security proce­
UMEGA model (R2 = 49%) and the expanded dures. It also stated that no invoice of a business can be
12 M. ALTIN AND R. YILMAZ

seen by another company. The government should reg­ Disclosure statement

ularly listen to the users’ concerns, take the necessary
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
measures, and increase the perception of trust by inform­
ing the users of the measures taken.
ORCID
Conclusion Meltem Altin http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6673-3627
Recep Yilmaz http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0306-2958
A comprehensive study was conducted on the adoption
of cloud-based accounting practices in Turkey. To pro­
vide a deeper understanding of the factors affecting the References
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