Use Of E-services Research Articles

Improving the use of public e-services through explainability

AbstractDespite an omnipresent call for public e-services, the potential of digitalization in the public sector is still untapped. A promising means to increase the use of public e-services may be explainability. In this study, we follow the Design Science Research methodology to propose and evaluate design principles for explainability of public e-services. We instantiate the design principles in cooperation with the German Federal Statistical Office using the example of its public e-service Personal Inflation Calculator. We evaluate the design principles in a user study with 226 users and an expert survey with 17 public sector digitalization experts. Results confirm the design principles’ utility and applicability. Furthermore, we investigate the impact of explainability on the use of public e-services. In a randomized online experiment with 204 citizens, we demonstrate the positive impact of explainability of public e-services on perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, self-efficacy, trust, and intention to use. With our design principles, we provide applicable and prescriptive knowledge on explainability of public e-services. Our findings on the impact of explainability on the use of public e-services contribute to the understanding of the role of explainability in digitizing the public sector.

THE EFFECT OF TRUST IN BANKING INSTITUTIONS ON BEHAVIOURAL INTENTIONS FOR E-SERVICES

The adoption rate of electronic banking services (e-services) by consumers has increased significantly in recent years. For example, in the European Union, according to EUROSTAT data, the rate of individuals using the internet for internet banking increased by more than 25% between 2012 and 2023 (Eurostat, 2024). This may be due to several factors: the evolution of technology, the COVID-19 pandemic period, the time needed to complete a transaction, the availability of services, etc. The main objective of this paper was to assess whether trust in banking institutions can influence consumers' behavioural intentions when discussing the use of e-services. The following dimensions were considered to measure trust in the banking unit: Ability, Integrity, Benevolence (Bhattacherjee, 2002). A scale with the following dimensions was also used to measure behavioural intentions: loyalty, switch, pay more, external response (Zeithaml et al., 1996). The relationships were tested both between the "trust" and "behavioural intentions" dimensions taken as a whole and between the "trust" dimension taken separately and the "behavioural intentions" dimension taken as a whole. To achieve the objective of this study, the author collected data from 500 respondents in Romania via an online questionnaire. The surveys were conducted between April and August 2022. Partial least squares (PLS-SEM) was used for data analysis. The PLS-SEM results confirmed the significance of three out of four direct relationships. For one of the hypotheses, the dimension "integrity" was removed from the proposed conceptual model due to preliminary tests. These findings can help credit institutions to take various measures to increase public trust in such institutions and encourage the use of e-banking services. The areas targeted by these measures include: financial education programmes; corporate social responsibility (CSR) campaigns; transaction security; quality of banking staff; and transparency of credit institutions. For future research, it would be valuable to know what results can be obtained in other geographical areas. It is recommended to adapt and create new scales that can measure trust in companies and consumer behavioural intentions. These tools can help companies develop in their industries.

Utilisation of E-Government Services during the Covid-19 Pandemic: Exploring Efforts by the Government of Tanzania

This article attempts to examine the Tanzanian Government’s utilisation of e-government services during the Covid-19 pandemic. The methodological approach of the article is online content review due to the phenomenological nature of the unfolding pandemic. The review is based on the researcher’s observations and analysis of the e-government platforms leveraged in Covid-19 pandemic. The results indicate that e-government has been embraced significantly through the efforts done by the government to make citizens more informed about the pandemic and to promote use of e-services. E-government is presented as among the key tools for managing the spread of the pandemic. The article also paints government digital transformation as a huge opportunity provided by e-government during the pandemic and beyond. The article contributes to literature by presenting the significance of e-government to developing countries during crises including: government-wide online presence, quality information provision, G2C and G2G e-services, online engagement and social media presence. The review shows that collaboration and coordination among government entities are strategic techniques for an integrated and efficient digital government. Rightly so, the policy makers are recommended to strengthen inter-governmental collaboration and coordination in planning, developing, implementing and maintaining e-government services.

Antecedents of user attitude toward e-government services use: Empirical study on department of lands and survey

This qualitative study examined the impact of social media characteristics on the attitude of users toward the use of e-services by the Department of Lands and Survey. The study population comprised users of Department of Lands and Survey e-service, while the study sample comprised 407 users. Data from respondents were analyzed using SEM run using Amos (23). Results showed reliability, security, website design, ease of use, awareness, and digital divide as direct significant antecedents of user attitude toward the use of e-services from the Department of Lands and Survey. Also, all antecedents showed direct significant relationships with user attitude. Results showed a direct significant relationship between user attitude and the use of e-services from the Department of Lands and Survey. Through mediation of user attitude, five indirect significant relationships between the antecedents and the use of e-services from the Department of Lands and Survey were found. The inclusion of new antecedents such as privacy and site content may enhance the understanding of how users use e-services provided by the Department of Lands and Survey.

Staying One Step Ahead: Exploring Protection Motivation Theory to Combat Cyber-fraud Among E-services Users.

Cyber fraud cases have been on the rise globally, with Malaysia experiencing a surge during the COVID-19 pandemic, which highlights the need for increased awareness among consumers. The use of e-services by fraudsters presents an ever-increasing challenge as it becomes harder to detect such activities, with victims suffering various losses, such as financial, psychological, and trust-related. This study aimed to investigate the factors that influence the intention of e-services users to protect themselves against cyber fraud using the Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) and Structural Equation Modelling. The results show that cybersecurity efficacy, source credibility, and response efficacy positively influence protection behaviour, while perceived vulnerability does not. The study's contribution is the operationalization of the cybersecurity efficacy construct into two components: knowledge and skills.

Arabic Opinion Mining System for E-Services Based On Ontology and Machine Learning

With the growing use of E-Services in the Arab world, there is a need for efficient methods to analyze customer feedback and opinions. This research is proposing an Arabic opinion mining system for E-Services based on ontology and machine learning techniques. The system utilizes an Arabic ontology to capture domain-specific vocabulary and relationships between features and a machine learning model to classify customer feedback into positive, negative, or neutral sentiments. By evaluating the performance of the system using several domains datasets for Arabic customer reviews of various e-services, and the results show that the system achieves a high accuracy level. Comparing the performance of the proposed system to traditional polarity and subjectivity approaches.

The Secret to Success in Agriculture E-Commerce: E-Service Quality of Panenpa

The development of digital technology is an innovation that able to increase the country's economic growth. This development is considered as the key solutions to any problems in Indonesia. Sectors that have high potential is the agricultural sector. Agricultural e-commerce system is one the instance form of implementing digital technology in the agricultural sector. It plays a pivotal role in helping farmers to market their agricultural products and on the other hand, it provides benefits for fresh products consumers. The aim of this research is to synthesize the existing literature on the e-service systems in the agricultural fields by exploring the readiness of the e-commerce, tailored to working women/working housewives in Bali. This research used a qualitative method, and the data was collected using purposive sampling technique through the interview method. For the results, researcher founded knowledge gaps and beliefs in the domains of delivery service, product quality and payments fulfilment. To bridge identified gaps, researcher strongly suggest renewal and improvement on the lacking to meet customers satisfaction and escalate repurchase intention. For practitioners, this study is meaningful in the study of electronic service quality of agricultural e-commerce to understand customer’s motivation and expectations towards the use of e-service.

PP55 Citizens’ General Needs Assessment In SOTERIA Project: ‘User-friendly Digital Secured Personal Data And Privacy Platform’

IntroductionDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of e-services increased, bringing a better choice of technologies and services. Nevertheless, these services require the use of sensitive personal data, which increased the level of risk because of potential privacy and security breaches. As a result, citizens are more concerned about their privacy, security, and personal data protection. The SOTERIA project aims to provide a secure and user-driven solution. This study aims to identify barriers and key points related to citizens when using digital systems for data interoperability.MethodsBoth qualitative and quantitative approaches were applied in order to identify and measure citizens’ general needs regarding the tool to be developed within the context of SOTERIA. The questionnaire was distributed throughout the three European countries under study: Austria, Romania, and Spain, with 400 responses collected in each country. The distribution of sex, age, occupation and educational level was representative in the entire sample.ResultsThis study corroborates the critical role of perceived security in the intention to adopt new technologies. In addition, to trust and being consistent with the extant literature on technology adoption/acceptance, perceived benefits and usefulness also play a crucial role in driving attitudes and behavioral intention to adopt digital data wallet (DDW). Our findings show that perceived ease of use, the user’s belief of having no difficulty using the technology (i.e., DDW), is a significant predictor of consumers’ intentions to use DDW. Our qualitative data from both the in-depth interviews and focus groups also revealed convenience, being comfortable, and/or less time and energy needed to use DDW in comparison to one’s current situation, to be a determinant of perceived benefits. Transparency, which provides consumers with knowledge of how firms manage their personal information, was also viewed as important among our participants in both in-depth interviews and focus groups. Our findings corroborate previous studies that report the control of privacy concerns, or the extent to which consumers believe they can manage the flow of information, feel comfortable and enhance their perceived view of privacy or lower privacy concerns.ConclusionsOur qualitative studies confirmed that trust, or consumers’ expectation of how data will be handled in the future plays an important role in influencing the intention of DDW adoption.

Impact of service agents on customer satisfaction and loyalty: mediating role of Chatbots

PurposeThis study aims to determine whether or not fashion retail brands can maintain their essence by providing personalized care through conventional face-to-face interactions or the use of e-services.Design/methodology/approachAn exploratory investigation is being conducted to attain this goal. According to the findings of this research, Chatbots have an impact on consumer loyalty. The quality of a Chatbot’s system, service and information are all critical to providing a positive consumer experience.FindingsThe study concluded that Chatbot e-services might potentially enable dynamic and fascinating interactions between firms and their consumers. To personalize a Chatbot, firms might change the tone of the language used. Customers are more likely to use a Chatbot if it resembles a real person, which increases their pleasure and confidence in the product.Originality/valueMore precisely, the emphasis of the inquiry was on Chatbot, a relatively new digital tool that offers user-friendly, personalized and one-of-a-kind support to customers. Using information supplied by consumers, the authors examine a five-dimensional model that gauges how customers feel about Chatbots in terms of their ability to communicate with users, offer amusement, be trendy, personalize interactions and solve problems.

Integrating business and market intelligence to expedite service responsiveness: evidence from Malaysia

In today’s business world, Malaysian postal and courier companies are rapidly growing due to recent Covid-19 but they face various challenges due to intense competition in the use of high-tech e-services. The paper examines the role of business and market intelligence in expediting service innovation and responsiveness in Malaysia, which is considered the business hub of Asia. Primary survey data were collected from the 93 managerial staff of postal and courier companies in Malaysia. We employed PLS-SEM methodology to test the relationship between the selected variables of interest. The results indicate that market intelligence and business intelligence are the major contributors to service innovation and service responsiveness. Moreover, the role of knowledge management is crucial in better utilization of external and internal knowledge. Finally, this study provides practical guidelines to practitioners and policymakers of postal and courier companies to devise viable strategies for efficiently realizing service innovation and service responsiveness to the best satisfaction of the end customers.

Factors associated with use of wearable technology to support activity, well-being, or a healthy lifestyle in the adult population and among older adults.

The use of wearable technology, which is often acquired to support well-being and a healthy lifestyle, has become popular in Western countries. At the same time, healthcare is gradually taking the first steps to introduce wearable technology into patient care, even though on a large scale the evidence of its' effectiveness is still lacking. The objective of this study was to identify the factors associated with use of wearable technology to support activity, well-being, or a healthy lifestyle in the Finnish adult population (20-99) and among older adults (65-99). The study utilized a cross-sectional population survey of Finnish adults aged 20 and older (n = 6,034) to analyse non-causal relationships between wearable technology use and the users' characteristics. Logistic regression models of wearable technology use were constructed using statistically significant sociodemographic, well-being, health, benefit, and lifestyle variables. Both in the general adult population and among older adults, wearable technology use was associated with getting aerobic physical activity weekly according to national guidelines and with marital status. In the general adult population, wearable technology use was also associated with not sleeping enough and agreeing with the statement that social welfare and healthcare e-services help in taking an active role in looking after one's own health and well-being. Younger age was associated with wearable technology use in the general adult population but for older adults age was not a statistically significant factor. Among older adults, non-use of wearable technology went hand in hand with needing guidance in e-service use, using a proxy, or not using e-services at all. The results support exploration of the effects of wearable technology use on maintaining an active lifestyle among adults of all ages.

Obligations of Entrepreneurs Providing Services by Electronic Means

The development of new information and communication technologies affects economic development. E-services, along with the accompanying social changes, are being implemented in almost every area of human life, and the development of information and communication technologies makes it possible to employ a number of new instruments in its various spheres (e-banking, e-commerce, e-education, etc.). Currently, the information space in the context of the provision and use of e-services includes consumers and entrepreneurs although it assigns them different rights and obligations in this area. It seems necessary to assess the impact of the implementation by entrepreneurs of obligations related to the provision of e-services and their impact on the economy and on consumer safety in online trade. Legal changes concerning the obligations imposed on entrepreneurs in that field appear periodically in response to new threats related to dynamic technological development.The publication is devoted to an analysis of the provision of on-line services and an assessment of the law, in particular with regard to fulfilling information obligations with respect to consumers in cyberspace.

Effects of government electronic service quality on citizen satisfaction with integrated service delivery in urban areas

In the effort to achieve good and effective public services to gain public satisfaction and trust, the use of public electronic services (e-services) is expected to improve service quality. Public e-services offer better options for processing digital data. With increasing internet access, the use of e-services as a vehicle for delivering various public services is a promising development in the public sector. By maintaining and improving service quality, especially in the public sector, the use of internet/online services or public e-services will make users feel more satisfied and increase public trust. This study aims to determine the effect of electronic service quality on citizen satisfaction with public e-services. A quantitative research methodology was adopted. Data was collected by distributing online questionnaires to users of public e-service applications, totaling 150 respondents in Bandung, Indonesia. The sampling technique used was a purposive, non-probability-based sampling method. The data analysis technique was Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) using Smart software. The test results show that information quality, data security, and data privacy have a significant effect on e-service quality, which, in turn, has implications for citizen satisfaction. Based on the results of this study, we advise public e-services institutions to maintain and improve the quality of e-services by improving information quality, data security, and data privacy to increase user trust in public e-services.

Digitization of the Education in Bulgaria: State and General Trends

The accelerated implementation of information and communication technologies in all areas of public development requires in-depth studies of its effects at both national and global level. As education is one of the sectors most influenced by these trends, the need for systematic research on the application of digital technologies in the educational process is becoming increasingly apparent nowadays. In this context, the study presents an attempt to compare the level of use of e-services in education and other public sectors, also identifying the main target groups of users. The results of an author's empirical study are presented, which analyzes the state of the educational environment in Bulgaria, the use of information and communication technologies and their impact on it. The challenges in introducing digital education as well as the factors for their sustainable implementation in Bulgaria is also outlined. Based on the analysis are derived the types of educational e-applications offered, their quality, trends in their use, as well as the most typical groups of users of this type of education in Bulgaria.

The Role of Department Type in Public Managers’ Attitudes Toward Social Media Use

Social media technologies have been widely adopted by governments to increase civic engagement, promote openness, and extend services. Previous research finds that public managers’ attitudes are important predictors of social media adoption and successful implementation. Managers’ attitudes may vary due to different organizational structures, functions, and operations based on department type or because departments vary along with key dimensions. This research investigates the following questions: (1) Does department type significantly predict public managers’ attitudes toward social media, (2) does department type moderate the effect of predictors of managers’ attitudes toward social media found in previous research, and (3) do the predictors of managers’ attitudes toward social media found in previous research mediate attitude differences observed across different kinds of departments. Using data collected from a 2014 national web survey in the United States on technology in city government, we find department type is an important predictor of managers’ attitudes toward social media use. The effects of other predictors of attitudes toward social media use were not moderated by department type. Instead, those predictors had similar effects regardless of department type. Some of the variables related to organizational characteristics and culture (e.g., social media use, innovativeness, and use of e-services) helped to explain differences between the attitudes of managers from different departments. Our findings are important for developing strategies to target managers’ negative attitudes toward using social media, thus removing one of the barriers to successful technology implementation.

Using an Extended Technology Acceptance Model to Evaluate Digital Health Services.

The evaluation of digital health services is concerned with assessing user satisfaction, improving the quality of health services and drawing useful conclusions regarding the factors that affect citizens' acceptance and intention to use digital health services. This paper proposes a model for evaluating a health digital service, that of, the Personal Health Insurance Record (PHIR), delivered by the Greek Organization for the Health Care Provision. The proposed model is based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), enhanced with two additional factors: a) user satisfaction and b) safety-privacy. The analysis of the results highlighted that the intention to use is significantly affected by perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, user satisfaction and safety-privacy. Parameters such as age and familiarity with the use of e-services also seem to determine the intention to use.

Formation of e-Governance in the Republic of Bulgaria as a Factor of Modernization of Public Administration

The purpose of the article is to study the formation and development of e-government in Bulgaria, as a factor in the modernization of public administration, assessment of trends in the use of administrative e-services based on the analysis of the current situation. The following tasks are solved in the article: the formation of e-government and e-government in Bulgaria is substantiated; e-government reforms are considered; current trends in the development of e-government and e-government as an institutional structure of Bulgaria are studied. The term “Bulgarian e-government” was first used in the Unified system of registration of civil status acts and administrative services in 1977. A successful unified registry of civil status acts provided effective access to citizens and organizations to obtain certificates, copies of civil status acts, forms building permits, use permits, duties, tax regulations. The political changes of 1989 and the democratization of the Republic of Bulgaria caused the need for a new administrative and legal framework, and the preparation for joining the EU – a certain renaissance of the e-government in a new phase and form. In 2005, the Republic of Bulgaria adopted modern national legislation in terms of interoperability with the EU, the National Information Society Strategy, which put the Republic of Bulgaria among the first European countries with such a direction of action. At the same time, there is low confidence in e-services in the Republic of Bulgaria, which is indirectly observed due to too low a percentage of e-purchases. Even in the capital, Sofia, the types of pre-paid services are very limited – instead the practice of payment on delivery is very common. Only business is the bearer of all risks. New generations of users with IT literacy are slowly mastering these changes. Still, gradually, the benefits of more efficient administration and business based on integrated data registers with shared responsibilities are becoming, despite all the difficulties, the best choice for many people. Now the process of e-governance reforms in the Republic of Bulgaria is a component of a new political and economic model of development. For the complete modernization of Public Administration in the Republic of Bulgaria, broad consultations should be introduced between the State agency, the Operator of the Unified System, business and manufacturing, on the one hand, and citizens, on the other. Such actions, combined with reforms, will significantly accelerate the modernization of Public Administration in the state.

Value Orientations and Institutional Trust as Contributors to the Adoption of Online Services in Youth: A Cross-Country Comparison.

Internet usage data from around the globe show that adolescents are the most frequent Internet users, but mostly for leisure activities and maintaining social contacts. In the present study, we focused on Internet use for e-services, which could improve youth efficiency in the financial domain (responsible consumer behaviour) and bridge the online divide in youth. Specifically, we explored how societal constructs (namely, institutional trust and personal values) influence the use of the Internet for online shopping, e-banking and communication with providers of goods and services online. We used a representative sample of adolescents (N = 10.902) from 10 countries of Southeast Europe where a great variability in Internet use is present, and where the use of e-services is generally lower than the EU average. This also allowed for meaningful cross-country comparisons. We tested a structural equation model of values predicting the use of the Internet through institutional trust (including some relevant demographic variables such as settlement size, SES and Internet use frequency) which was grounded in social capital theory, cultural theory and Schwartz human values model. The model exhibited a good fit to the data but the strengths of regressional paths were rather modest. Looking into the cross-country stability of the model, however, revealed some notable differences: while the relationship between trust and use of the Internet for e-services was modest in some countries, the relationship was insignificant in other countries, where Internet usage is lower in general. This suggests that strategies aimed at leveraging e-services and digital technology potential in youth should also account for cultural specificities in the transitional economies and cultural settings with sub-optimal adoption of digital services.

Electronic Services Management in Local Governance – Evidence from a Transitional Economy

The purpose of this study is to measure the impact of electronic services management on local government. Thus, it aims to provide empirical evidence on the factors that influence citizens’ willingness to use e-services. This study analyses the role of factors such as: awareness of electronic services, poor infrastructure and technical problems (quality of electronic services) in using e-services. The study was conducted based on data collected through a self-administered questionnaire from 130 citizens of the Republic of Kosovo, in the Gjilan region, and from three managers who manage e-services in the municipality. Whereas, to analyze these data was used SPSS as statistical software. The results show that factors such as accessibility at any time, reduction of waiting time and quality of information are the most important factors that increase the importance and willingness of using e-services. In addition, the use of e-services is positively related to the management of electronic services, awareness about electronic services and the quality of electronic services offered. The study contributes theoretically and empirically, to the knowledge about the management of electronic services on local government. This work becomes relevant for policymakers to understand in depth the specific challenges faced by users of electronic services.

The self-assessed information security skills of the Finnish population: A regression analysis

Instead of traditional services, citizens are increasingly being offered e-services, which require information security skills. However, the majority of research on information security skills has been conducted in homogenous groups of people. The purpose of this study was to describe self-assessed information security skills of the population of Finland and factors associated with the skills. A population survey covering inhabitants aged 20 and upwards was conducted from September 2020 to February 2021. The cross-sectional dataset was weighted (n = 6023) to ensure it represented the population. Descriptive statistics were used to establish an initial understanding. Then a regression analysis was conducted to identify the variables that were associated with information security skills. The results demonstrate that 78% of the respondents assessed their information security skills as good. There was a strong positive association between Internet skills and information security skills. Other factors that demonstrated a statistically significant association were age, level of education, financial situation, e-service use, information security concerns, functional health deficits, and major depression. Even though the majority of people were confident in their information security skills in the online environment, there was evidence of a skills gap that affected people in all age groups, more often senior citizens. The findings of this study increase our understanding of information security skills at the population level. The results can be used to identify groups who are not confident in their information security skills and for designing safer e-services and education or guidelines on information security.