Placing the Effect? Gleaning Insights into the Relationship between Citizens’ Use of E-Government and Trust in Government

Abstract

The effects of e-government on citizens’ trust in government are unclear. This study intends to address this lack of clarity by proposing a novel conceptual framework that can be used to explicate the processes tying e-government use to trust in government. This framework is centred upon citizens’ propensity to trust, perceptions of public sector performance, and trust in government. Citizens’ use of e-government is then argued to strengthen relationships in this framework. The validity of this framework is tested using data collected in 2012 from citizens of Seoul, South Korea. In general, the results offer partial support for the proposed framework. However, the strength of e-government’s influence decreases with more frequent use of information coming from government websites. Implications for effective practice are discussed.