Linking Citizen Satisfaction with E-Government and Trust in Government

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. Previous studies examined various factors Address correspondence to Eric W. Welch at [email protected]. doi:10.1093/jopart/mui021 Advance Access publication on December 16, 2004 Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, Vol. 15, no. 3 a 2005 Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, Inc.; all rights reserved. JPART 15:371–391 at A rona State U niersity on A ril 8, 2016 http://jpaordjournals.org/ D ow nladed from that contribute to the decline of public trust: the gap between public expectation and perceived governmental performance, economic performance, the role of mass media, political scandals, changes in social capital and culture, and perceived policy failures (Nye 1997; Peters 1999). In particular, the perceptual distance and information gap between the public and government appears to be one of the major elements that have led to the decline of public trust in government. To some, appropriate utilization of information and communication technologies, especially the Internet, by government has the potential to increase citizen satisfaction with government. Similarly, better, more convenient services, more accessible and complete information, and new and improved channels of communication may reduce the information gap and improve citizen trust in government. Research has shown that public sector management of information throughout this new era is heavily focused on information dissemination (posting things on government Web sites) and provision of Web services (Musso, Weare, and Hale 2000). However, there has been little deployment of electronic technologies and accompanying organizational mechanisms that more directly engage citizens in discussion, debate, or decision making. This suggests that agencies are using the communication capabilities of the Internet in a selective ‘‘one-way’’ communication strategy and foregoing a more complex ‘‘two-way’’ communication strategy. Some believe this scenario may result in a reduction in the level of communicative interaction between citizens and bureaucrats (Bovens and Zouridis 2002). The extent to which citizens recognize and are satisfied with e-government strategies is not clear; nor is it clear that there is a connection between satisfaction with e-government and trust. This article first reviews the trends in trust in government in the United States. It then explores how various factors that influence trust may be linked with different facets of electronic government that affect citizens including transactions, information provision, and two-way interaction. We then develop a model and identify hypotheses about how citizen use of government Web sites, satisfaction with e-government, and trust in government are interrelated. Using survey data obtained from the Council for Excellence in Government, a multiple-equation model simultaneously estimates citizen use of government Web sites, e-government satisfaction, and trust. The two-stage estimation technique allows for incorporation of selection bias and endogenous relationships in the model. Generally, findings indicate that trust in government is strongly associated with e-government satisfaction and that e-government satisfaction is associated with citizens’ perceptions about online service convenience (transactions), information reliability (transparency), and engaged electronic communication (interactivity). Conclusions interpret the findings for theory and application. TRENDS IN PUBLIC TRUST IN GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES: INDICATORS AND EXPLANATIONS National Election Studies (NES) of the University of Michigan (2004) has collected longitudinal data regarding various political, social, and cultural elements of the public. In the section entitled ‘‘Support for the Political System,’’ several indexes represent various aspects of the public’s attitude toward government, such as public trust in government, 372 Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory at A rona State U niersity on A ril 8, 2016 http://jpaordjournals.org/ D ow nladed from political efficacy, and governmental responsiveness. Figure 1 shows longitudinal trends for available data for these three indexes, two of which, government trust and political efficacy, have been declining during the last three decades, though there is a significant amount of noise around the declining trend. Based on the data, one could argue that, in general, the American public has been losing confidence and trust in government. The NES study shows that public trust in government reached the highest point in 1966 before it started diminishing, probably as the public responded negatively to the Vietnam War. Trust plummeted during the 1970s, reaching a low point when the Watergate scandal occurred in 1974, recovered somewhat during the early 1980s, and soon fell again during Reagan’s second term in office. From the mid-1990s, public trust began to rise again, thanks possibly to the booming economy under the Clinton administration. The NES (2004) also offers data on public trust in government by demographic groups by gender, race, education, income, vocation, religion, age, political partisanship, and political ideology. The decline in public trust is similarly pervasive across the different demographic groups defined by gender, race, and socioeconomic status (NES 2004). Scholars attribute the decline in the American public’s confidence and trust in government to a variety of different reasons. Peters (1999) asserts that public trust in government declines particularly as a reaction to scandal (e.g., Watergate, Whitewater, Lewinsky), inefficient government performance (e.g., the Savings and Loan crisis, budget deficits), and policy failure (e.g., the Vietnam War). He also points out that economic instability and recession may contribute to the declining public trust as observed in the midto late 1980s and early 1990s, though he also sees that economic prosperity does not always seem to promote public trust in a substantial way, as observed in the late 1990s. 1 The public trust in government is calculated based on the four following questions: a. How much of the time do you think you can trust the government in Washington to do what is right—just about always (100), most of the time (67), or only some of the time (33)? (0) for none of them (volunteered answer). b. Would you say the government is pretty much run by a few big interests looking out for themselves (0) or that it is run for the benefit of all the people (100)? c. Do you think that people in the government waste a lot of money we pay in taxes (0), waste some of it (50), or don’t waste very much of it (100)? d. Do you think that quite a few of the people running the government are (1958–72: a little) crooked (0), not very many are (50), or hardly any of them are crooked (1958–72: none at all) (100)? The political efficacy index was constructed based on the two following statements: a. People like me don’t have any say about what the government does. Agree (0) or Disagree (100) b. I don’t think public officials care much what people like me think. Agree (0) or Disagree (100) The government responsiveness index is constructed based on the two following questions: a. Over the years, how much attention do you feel the government pays to what the people think when it decides what to do—a good deal (100), some (50), or not much (0)? b. And how much do you feel that having elections makes the government pay attention to what the people think—a good deal (100), some (50), or not much (0)? 2 For more information, see National Election Studies, University of Michigan (www.umich.edu/;nes/nesguide/ gd-index.htm). Welch, Hinnant, and Moon Citizen Satisfaction and Trust in Government 373 at A rona State U niersity on A ril 8, 2016 http://jpaordjournals.org/ D ow nladed from