Grounded on the social capital theory, the current study examines the direct and indirect association of perceived government response to COVID-19 and the interaction of government representatives on social networking sites with the Public Trust in Government (PTIG) via perceived e-governance effectiveness as a mediator. Moreover, the interactive effect of Perceived Religious Value with Perceived Government Response to COVID-19 and Interaction of Government Representatives on Social Networking Sites was assessed to enhance public trust in government. Two independent studies were performed, and data were evaluated using SmartPLS 3.0 software. Results revealed the significant direct and indirect impact of Perceived Government Response to COVID-19 and Interaction of Government Representatives on Social Networking Sites on Public Trust in Government via Perceived E-governance Effectiveness as a mediator. The results also supported the moderating role of Perceived Religious Value between the Interaction of Government Representatives on Social Networking Sites and Public Trust in Government. Likewise, the findings supported the interactive effect of Perceived Government Response to COVID-19 with Perceived Religious Value to enhance Public Trust in Government. Key policy insights about the government’s timely and effective response to COVID-19 and Social Networking Sites used to enhance public trust are highlighted.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.