**4. Materials and Methods**

The paper draws on primary and secondary data. The primary data were collected from the woreda land administration experts through surveys and key informant interviews of national-level senior experts. Key informant interviews were also employed to collect information on NRLAIS development, support and maintenance services, and operational deployment at the federal and regional land institutions. In addition, the secondary data were collected through a review of scientific literature and policy and program documents.

A partial least square structural equation model (PLS-SEM) was used for the data analysis, which integrates several different multivariate techniques into one model-fitting framework. Smart-PLS software version 3.0 was used to process the data analysis related to the coefficient of interaction terms. PLS-SEM includes confirmatory factor analysis, path analysis and partial least square to impute relationships between latent variables [67]. SEM was used to test the structural relationships between the 14 hypotheses and the actual use of NRLAIS. Cronbach Alpha analysis was performed to examine the consistency of data, and the value of Cronbach alpha should be greater than 0.7. SEM combines the usage of latent (unobserved) variables that represent the concept of theory and data from measures (indicators or manifest variables). The manifest variables are used as input for statistical analysis that provides evidence about relationships among latent variables. Descriptive statistics are also employed to analyze the results of survey data. Figures, tables, and maps are mainly utilized to present the results and findings of the study.

Questionnaires were formulated to collect the professional perceptions and experience of the woreda land administration experts on the technological (SYQU), organizational (INQU and SRQU), and behavioral aspects (PEOU and PRUS) of NRLAIS. The survey consists of three main sections. The first section comprises ten questions on the demographics of the woreda land administration experts. The second section consists of five questions on the NRLAIS use experience of the experts. The third section includes 29 questions related to the measurement variables and their respective indicator items. All the measurement variable indicators are formative and adapted from various earlier related studies [49,55]. The respondents were asked to state their opinions using a seven-point Likert scale from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (7).

Five to six items were initially formulated to develop pilot survey questionnaires for direct measures. The formulation of these pilot questionnaires aimed to assess each of the theory's major constructs: system quality, service quality, information quality, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, intention to use, and actual use behavior. Seven-point bipolar adjective scales were employed. The pilot questionnaires also included measures of background factors and other variables, including demographic characteristics, professional experience, and system use. The pilot questionnaires were distributed to 30 land administration experts convened in a national workshop in February 2021. The experts came from national and regional level land administration institutions that had been supporting the roll-out of NRLAIS at the woreda land administration offices. The results of the pilot questionnaires also allowed the authors to evaluate the validity and consistency of each item and utility of the background measures. Based on these inputs, necessary adjustment was made, and the standard questionnaires to be used in the main study were produced.

#### *4.1. Study Site*

The study covers 50 sample woredas of three regional states (Amhara, Oromia, and SNNP) in Ethiopia. These three regional states hold over 80 percent of the total population and close to half of the country's landmass [68]. Geographically, most of the study areas are located in the central highlands of the country and some along the south-central parts of the Rift Valley, characterized by high population density and diverse land uses. The male (50.1%) population is slightly higher than the female (49.9%). Over 70% of the population in the study areas is under age 30, which aligns with the overall national age breakdown [68], showing a high density of younger people in the study areas. Agriculture, forestry, and livestock raising contributed directly or indirectly to the livelihoods of most of the population in the study areas. Climate change is leading to above average temperatures and greater rainfall variability, with a pronounced effect on agricultural productivity and the suitability of major crops in the study areas [32].

According to official figures from the Ethiopian Central Statistics Agency (CSA), the urbanization rate is growing at an average rate of 5.2 percent per year since 2018. If these trends continue, the urban population is projected to reach 50 million by 2034 [69]. Natural increase rather than rural-to-urban migration was the main driver of urban population growth up to 2018, with rural-to-urban migration being the main driver since 2018 [70]. As population density increases, combined with continued land fragmentation, large cohorts of young people will increasingly become functionally landless. This fuels intense land use competitions and conversions of rural land to built environments. This is becoming a serious land governance issue, particularly in the urban–rural frontiers of most Ethiopian cities [71]. Currently, access to land continues to be difficult due to increasing land scarcity and the total area of landholding per household diminishing over time in the study areas [72]. The average number of rural land parcels per study woreda is 83,000. The woreda land administration offices had an average annual subsequent land transactions turnover of 1 percent, mainly through inheritance, donation, and land rentals. The average size of parcels involved in these transactions was about a quarter of a hectare [43].

According to the MoA [43], as of November 2021, over 180 woredas had established NRLAIS and made it operational. Woredas with operational NRLAIS are found in Amhara (61 woredas), Oromia (68 woredas), and SNNP (56 woredas) regional states (see Figure 2 for a map of the study woredas). The study excluded the inaccessible Tigray regional state due to the ongoing armed conflict and instability. According to the same source, information of about 11 million parcels has been registered in NRLAIS, covering close to 6 million hectares.

**Figure 2.** Study Site Map. Data Source: Ministry of Agriculture, November 2021.
