Linking Citizen Satisfaction with E-Government and Trust in Government

Abstract

This article asks how Internet use, citizen satisfaction with e-government, and citizen trust in government are interrelated. We first review the literature on trust and explore how radical information technologies may work to alter the production or maintenance of trust. We then develop hypotheses about how citizens' experience with e-government, satisfaction with e-government and government Web sites, and trust in government are interrelated. Moreover, the model for e-government and Web site satisfaction incorporates citizen perspectives on electronic transaction, transparency, and interactivity. Using data obtained from the Council on Excellence in Government, we then develop and test a twostage multiple-equation model that simultaneously predicts experience, satisfaction, and trust. Findings indicate that government Web site use is positively associated with e-government satisfaction and Web site satisfaction and that e-government satisfaction is positively associated with trust in government. We also find that while citizens are generally satisfied with the electronic provision of information (transparency), there is some dissatisfaction with the transaction and interactivity of Web sites. We conclude that electronic government strategies-transaction, transparency, and interactivity-are important factors that directly affect e-government satisfaction and indirectly affect trust. Individuals who use government Web sites are not only critical consumers but also demanding citizens. During the past four decades, there has been a decline of public trust in government. The decline offers tough challenges to politicians, public administrators, and citizens because it implies the loss of public confidence in political and administrative performance as well as dissatisfaction with public services.

Trust transfer in the continued usage of public e-services

“…Public services have a wide range of users; an easy, intuitive design with complete information can minimize user errors and maximize trust [101]. Other website elements enhance communication richness, such as interactive live chats, pictures of the person in charge of the office, or ''behindthe-scenes'' videos.…”

Citizens’ adoption of an electronic government system: towards a unified view

“…Electronic government (hereafter, eGov) is one of the most interesting concepts to have appeared in the area of public administration in the last few years (Moon 2002;Norris and Moon 2005) and has become a significantly prominent facet of governance (Morgeson et al 2010; Thomas and Streib 2003;Welch et al 2005). It is defined as the delivery of government information and services to citizens via the Internet or other digital means (West 2004).…”

E-government without E-democracy in the case of Vietnam: Transparency has been a sham?

“…E-government is considered a solution to disseminate government information and provide public services online via digital means (West, 2000). Some public policy scholars have argued that e-government may improve public trust (Tolbert & Mossberger, 2006;Welch, Hinnant, & Moon, 2005), and enhance accountability and publicity (characteristics of democratic system), thus being labeled as "e-democracy" (Clift, 2004;Wong & Welch, 2004). Consequently, e-government and e-democracy may overlap with the concept of open government, particularly in the computer science where scientists virtually focus on using technological means in an e-government system (Hansson, Belkacem, & Ekenberg, 2014).…”

“…This variable (UN e-government surveys 14 were published in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2010, 2012, and 2014) is a comparative ranking of the countries based on two basic indicators: the state of e-government readiness; and the extent of e-participation (scale 0-1), with details as follows: Figure 1. E-government Readiness Index and E-participation Index of Vietnam (Source: UN E-Government Survey 2003, 2005, 2008, 2010 The first indicator, e-government readiness, includes three sub-indicators: Web measure index, telecommunication and infrastructure index, and the human capital index. It has been used to capture the overall availability of ICTs, and ability of a country to implement e-government.…”

“…E-government Readiness Index and E-participation Index of China (Source: UN E-Government Survey 2003, 2005, 2008, 2010 Having noted that transparency and openness always have the political implications (Berliner, 2014), economic openness likely stimulates political transparency and participation that pose a challenge to the dictatorship of political parties. Through the eyes of parties' leaders in authoritarian regimes, economic openness and political openness should not come together, as happened in the East Europe.…”