What is electronic government service quality?

With electronic government (e-government) gaining prominence across the globe as a means for effective service delivery to the citizens, there is an increasing interest in examining its service quality dimensions. Yet, there is limited empirical research on the impact of the SERVQUAL gap (the gap between perceived service quality and expected service quality) on user satisfaction with e-government websites. Using the SERVQUAL model as the theoretical framework and data from 200 Singapore e-government Web site users, this study investigates the nature of relationship between the SERVQUAL gap and user satisfaction. Furthermore, the study also examines the salience of different dimensions of service quality in determining user satisfaction. Results show a linear positive relationship (rather than a curvilinear relationship) between SERVQUAL gap and user satisfaction. The results also indicate the 'reliability' dimension of expected service quality and the 'reliability and responsiveness' dimensions of perceived service quality, having significant impacts on user satisfaction. The study delineates a set of implications for research and practice.