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The technology acceptance model (TAM) is robust in predicting user acceptance of internet and communication technology (IT) in various contexts but with limited explanatory power. This research uses the theory of bureaucracy to test if resistance to change (RTC) is a significant external factor relevant to the TAM in explaining IT acceptance and usage in a government context. This paper aims to address these issues.

The research employs a survey of 700 randomly selected government employees in Hong Kong. Additional information is gathered from senior management to validate the survey results.

RTC can improve the explanatory power of TAM. It bridges previous researches' findings in the TAM. The TAM is confirmed applicable in the government context and most of the theoretical relationships hold true. However, the usefulness‐intention direct link is found to be unstable. Hong Kong Government staff as a whole tends to be reluctant to change. Statistical tests show that there are heterogeneous behaviour groups within the organization. Specifically, younger and more educated staff are more willing to change.

The usable sample is relatively small (n=66).

The use of IT relies on the resistance level. System managers should target the younger and more educated users first to build up sufficient user mass and adopt peer pressure for a more successful level of implementation across all staff.

This is the first research to test the TAM in the Hong Kong Government context. It shows that there are deficiencies in TAM and weaknesses in previous TAM research. Also, as RTC is common to all organizations, the findings in this research are valuable to all organizations.

Peter F. Drucker (1909‐2005) was an influential modern management theorist. This paper, however, aims to challenge his diagnosis and prescriptions on the public sector for over‐simplifying several complex issues and not being sufficiently comprehensive. With the support of the empirical findings of a survey in the government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSARG), the authors seek to supplement Drucker's discussion on government and to propose managerial actions for implementing change.

An e‐mail questionnaire survey of 700 randomly selected government employees in Hong Kong was conducted. Additional information was gathered from senior management to validate the survey results.

In line with Drucker, HKSARG employees, as a whole, are reluctant to change. But statistical tests show that there are heterogeneous behavioural groups. Specifically, younger and more educated staff are more willing to change. The existence of these groups has both practical and managerial implications for implementing change.

The usable sample is relatively small (n=66).

The government should not be viewed and understood unidirectionally. Management should target the younger and more educated users first to build up sufficient user mass and adopt peer pressure for a more successful level of implementation of IT usage across all staff. Job rotation and flexible entry and exit options are worth considering, too.

This research validates empirically the nature of HKSARG. It demonstrates that researchers' challenges to Drucker's views on government are well founded. More research on the characteristics of the public sector is required for better understanding of the real nature of these large, bureaucratic organisations.