E Governance and Citizen Satisfaction: The Mediating Role of Transparency and Moderating Role of Digital Literacy
Abstract
The rapid adoption of digital technologies has transformed the way governments deliver public services, communicate with citizens, and promote administrative accountability. E governance has consequently become an important mechanism for improving the efficiency, accessibility, responsiveness, and quality of public administration. However, the availability of digital government services does not necessarily guarantee higher levels of citizen satisfaction. Citizens may evaluate digital government services according to their perceptions of transparency, accessibility, trustworthiness, responsiveness, and ease of use. Moreover, differences in citizens' digital literacy may determine whether they can effectively access and benefit from electronically delivered public services. This study examines the relationship between e governance and citizen satisfaction by investigating the mediating role of transparency and moderating role of digital literacy. E governance represents the use of digital technologies to provide government information and services, facilitate citizen interaction, and improve administrative processes. Transparency is proposed as a mediator because digital government can increase the accessibility of public information, clarify administrative procedures, and improve visibility of governmental decisions. Citizen satisfaction represents citizens' overall evaluation of the quality, accessibility, responsiveness, and effectiveness of government services. Digital literacy is proposed as a moderator because citizens with stronger digital skills are expected to obtain greater benefits from e government platforms. The study adopts a quantitative, cross sectional survey design and proposes the use of Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling through SmartPLS. The measurement model should be assessed through indicator reliability, Cronbach's alpha, composite reliability, average variance extracted, and discriminant validity. The structural model should be evaluated through path coefficients, bootstrapping, coefficient of determination, effect sizes, predictive relevance, mediation, and moderation analysis. Illustrative findings suggest that e governance positively affects transparency and citizen satisfaction, while transparency positively influences citizen satisfaction. Transparency partially mediates the relationship between e governance and citizen satisfaction. Digital literacy is expected to strengthen the positive relationship between e governance and citizen satisfaction, indicating that digitally competent citizens are more capable of converting digital government services into satisfactory service experiences. The study contributes to public administration and information systems literature by integrating technological, institutional, and citizen capability perspectives into one framework. The findings provide practical implications for governments seeking to improve digital public services and promote inclusive digital governance.
Copyright Notice Submission of an article implies that the work described has not been published previously (except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture or academic thesis), that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere, that its publication is approved by all authors and tacitly or explicitly by the responsible authorities where the work was carried out, and that, if accepted, will not be published elsewhere in the same form, in English or in any other language, without the written consent of the Publisher. The Editors reserve the right to edit or otherwise alter all contributions, but authors will receive proofs for approval before publication. Copyrights for articles published in IJSSA journal are retained by the authors, with first publication rights granted to the journal. The journal/publisher is not responsible for subsequent uses of the work. It is the author’s responsibility to bring an infringement action if so desired by the author.
