Managing Citizens’ Uncertainty in E-Government Services: The Mediating and Moderating Roles of Transparency and Trust

This paper investigates how citizens’ uncertainty in e-government services can be managed. First, we draw from uncertainty reduction theory, and propose that transparency and trust are two key means of reducing citizens’ uncertainty in e-government services. Second, we identify two key sets of relevant drivers of e-government service use: (1) information quality characteristics — i.e., accuracy and completeness; and (2) channel characteristics — i.e., convenience and personalization. We propose that the means of uncertainty reduction, information quality characteristics, and channel characteristics are interrelated factors that jointly influence citizens’ intentions to use e-government. We tested our model with 4,430 Hong Kong citizens’ reactions to two e-government services: government websites and online appointment booking. Our results show that the information quality and channel characteristics predict citizens’ intentions to use e-government. Further, transparency and trust mediate as well as moderate the effects of information quality and channel characteristics on intentions. A follow-up survey found that citizens’ intentions predict use and ultimately, citizens’ satisfaction.