Proceedings of the 36th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences - 2003
Internet Use, Transparency, and Interactivity Effects on Trust in Government Eric W. Welch University of Illinois at Chicago Email.
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Charles C. Hinnant The University of Georgia Email.
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Abstract
bureaucrats [3]. To what extent is a one-way strategy appropriate? Is the substitution of screen-level bureaucracy for street-level bureaucracy sufficient for citizens to understand and trust government? This paper explores the contributions of one-way information and service provision and two-way communication strategies on citizens’ perceptions of trust in government. Calling on existing theory, hypotheses are developed to test how citizen internet use, satisfaction with transparency and interactivity of government websites contribute to citizen trust in government are interrelated. Using survey data obtained from the Council for Excellence in Government, a multiple equation model simultaneously estimates citizen Internet use, satisfaction, and trust. The two stage estimation technique allows for incorporation of endogenous relationships among the independent variables in the different equations. Generally, findings indicate that trust in government is strongly associated with transparency and interactivity satisfaction. Conclusions support the need for government to develop better two-way interactivity applications for eDemocracy.
This paper asks how internet use, citizen satisfaction with e-government and citizen trust in government are interrelated. Prior research has found that agencies stress information and service provision on the Web (oneway e-government strategy), but have generally ignore applications that would enhance citizen-government interaction (two-way e-government strategy). Based on a review of the literature, we develop hypotheses about how two facets of e-democracy – transparency and interactivity – may affect citizen trust in government. Using data obtained from the Council on Excellence in Government, we apply a two stage multiple equation model. Findings indicate that internet use is positively associated with transparency satisfaction but negatively associated with interactivity satisfaction, and that both interactivity and transparency are positively associated with citizen trust in government. We conclude that the one-way e-transparency strategy may be insufficient, and that in the future agencies should make and effort to enhance e-interactivity.
1. Introduction
2. Literature, Model and Hypotheses
The ubiquity of computer technologies and the internet signals an era in which government and citizens can more finely manage information. These technologies promise important changes in government work and communication processes. Selective provision and retrieval of information is easier and more cost effective, while asynchronous and synchronous communication methods have the potential to revolutionize relationships between citizens and government [1]. Nevertheless, research has shown a clear pattern in public sector management of information throughout this new era: greater one-way dissemination of information and provision of web services are clearly dominating twoway communication between government officials and citizens [2]. Some researchers predict that if government continues to advocate the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) primarily for armslength information and service provision, a routinized screen-bureaucracy will develop. According to this scenario, e-government will result in a reduction in the level of communicative interaction between citizens and
2.1. Trust in Government Although there is little agreement in the literature about how to define citizen trust in government or how it is gained and lost, most writers agree that it is an important determinant of public action and cooperation, and that it has been declining for years [4, 5]. One dominant perspective considers trust to be built upon expectations conditioned by some type of social context or interaction. Thomas identifies three broad conceptions of trust. …(a) fiduciary trust, which is notable for asymmetric relationships and attendant opportunities for malfeasance; (b) mutual trust, which develops between individuals who repeatedly interact with one another; and (c) social trust, which is embedded within institutions we know in common and take for granted [5, p. 170].
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Proceedings of the 36th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences - 2003
These different concepts of trust interact such that mutual trust contributes to social trust, and social trust provides the context within which individuals can establish mutual trust and maintain fiduciary trust. Diffusion of information technologies in society may affect expectations of trust. Nelson states that user trust in Web-based technologies are affected by such issues of security of networks, computers and data, confidentiality, reliability or verifiability of information, and jurisdiction [6]. Shapiro notes that the Internet revolution has produced an information culture in which individuals (citizens) have access to and, hence, expect access to a great deal of data and information [7]. He also finds that the network of networks and the code features of the internet that allow many-to-many interaction are “[rightly] hailed as one of the most potentially democratic aspects of the Net because it allows individuals to be creators of content rather than just passive recipients, and active participants in dialogue instead of just bystanders [7, p. 15].” Fiduciary trust is based on principal agent theory in which the relationship between the citizen and the government is asymmetric; the citizen’s knowledge about what the bureaucrat is doing is limited. The citizen trusts that government will work in their best interests. Therefore, citizens may react favorably when agents utilize information technologies to disclose information. Similarly, governments that utilize the interactive capabilities of information technologies to include citizens in public policy discussions may be addressing the concept of mutual trust. Citizens may react favorably to government openness and interaction in social contexts where participation is normatively good and concentration of power and control are normatively bad. Thomas further finds three means by which trust in government is produced: characteristic-based, processbased and institution-based [5]. Characteristic-based trust is produced through expectations associated with personal characteristics such as race, age, or gender [8]. Process-based trust is garnered through expectations of reciprocity in which the giver of essentially obligates the receiver to return goods or services of equivalent “intrinsic or economic value [5, p. 180].” Institutions engender trust either directly through adoption of professional standards or codes of ethics, or indirectly through the observance or administration of laws and regulations. In the virtual world, characteristic-based trust is difficult to establish as personal characteristics are hidden, leaving institution- and process-based trust as primary areas of interest. However, increased effort of government to interact with citizens and increased information disclosure by government to citizens can enhance the level of exchange between citizens and government and thereby increase process-based trust. Additionally, adept and reasonable application of new or
existing norms, laws and regulations to the context within which new technologies are employed increases institutional trust.
2.2. Transparency and Interactivity In the field of Public Administration, the Cyberspace Policy Research Group (CyPRG) has identified two theoretical constructs of government website applications: transparency and interactivity. Transparency “constitutes a layman’s basic map of the organization as depicted in the information on the site [and] reveals the depth of access it allows, the depths of knowledge about processes it is willing to reveal, and the level of attention to citizen response it provides [9,10,11].” The more transparent an organization’s web site is, the more it is willing to allow citizens to monitor its performance [12]. Interactivity “ is a measure of the level of convenience or degree of immediate feedback [provided] [9].” Interactivity is one means of describing the willingness or ability of an agency to be responsive to citizens. Fulla and Welch have found that interactivity is more complex than described by CyPRG and must include a two way interaction, rather than a one-way email “clickability” concept [13]. The concepts of transparency and interactivity also reflect the broader discussions by researchers [2, 3] who contrast significant agency efforts to provide Internet based information and services with limited agency deployment of interactive communication applications on the Internet. Applying the concepts of transparency and interactivity to the discussion on the effect of information technology on trust in government, we propose the following hypotheses: H1: Increased citizen satisfaction with web transparency of government leads to increased citizen trust in government. H2: Increased citizen satisfaction with web interactivity of government leads to increased citizen trust in government.
2.3. Perceptions, Attitudes and Use A second general area of interest concerns the relationship between use of the Internet and satisfaction with the way in which government is employing Internet technology. According to data from the November 2001 Hart/Teeter poll [14], internet use is significantly positively correlated with frequency of access of government websites (r=0.39). In other words, individuals who use the internet more are more likely to visit government websites. This may be because increased use enhances an individual’s familiarity with
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Proceedings of the 36th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences - 2003
the full range of existing applications in all sectors, including government. More specifically, as the frequency of an individual’s access and use of the Internet increases so too will their understanding about existing and potential uses of the technology for information dissemination, online transactions, and interactive communication, for example. When individuals access government websites as “citizens” they are able to contrast observed patterns of government use of Internet technologies with their knowledge about possible Internet applications and with their expectations about government. Citizen dissatisfaction can arise when government is perceived to systematically use or block use of technology in ways that misinterpret or misrepresent expected cultural, political, or social norms. In terms of the previous sections’ discussions, citizens who are more familiar with the Internet are potentially more able to recognize its technological capacity to enhance transparency and interactivity of government. The will also discern instances or patterns of use that contradict expectations of open, transparent and interactive government. Assuming the literature identifies correctly that governments are doing a relatively good job at providing information and setting up services, but a poor job developing mechanisms for two-way interaction [2, 3, 15], citizens who use the Internet more, will also be more likely to recognize these patterns. As a result, we would expect that internet experienced citizens with the expectations described above would react favorably to government web site transparency, but disfavorably to government web site interactivity. H3: Level of citizen internet experience is positively associated with transparency satisfaction. H4: Level of citizen internet experience is negatively associated with interactivity satisfaction. Internet use itself should be associated with many of the more traditional demographic determinants of technology adoption. Using the same data, West finds that race, income, education and age are all associated with internet use [16]. We therefore, expect to replicate his findings. Finally, we use a number of perceptual and attitudinal controls such as overall perceptions of egovernment, stated familiarity with e-government, and risk aversion.
2.4. Model and Methods As stated above, the paper seeks to determine whether citizen satisfaction with interactivity and transparency of government are important indicators of the level of trust citizens have in government. Because internet use is
expected to be an indicator of citizen satisfaction with website interactivity and transparency, and because internet use has been found to be a function of a number of demographic characteristics, we have specified four separate equations to be solved simultaneously. The first equation models Internet use as a function of demographic characteristics. The second and third model interaction and transparency interaction as a function of Internet use, attitudinal controls and demographic controls. The final equation models trust in government as a function of the two simultaneously determined satisfaction variables along with attitudinal and demographic controls. Internet Use = ƒ (Demographic Characteristics) Interaction Satisfaction = ƒ (Internet Use, Attitudinal Controls, Demographic Controls) Transparency Satisfaction = ƒ (Internet Use, Attitudinal Controls, Demographic Controls) Trust in Government = ƒ (Transparency Satisfaction, Interaction Satisfaction, Attitudinal Controls, Demographic Controls) The endogenous nature of this problem, where variables such as Internet use, interaction satisfaction and transparency satisfaction are determined within a system of equations, calls for simultaneous equation estimation using two stage least squares. According to this method, the endogenous variables are first estimated by regressing each on all predetermined variables in the equation systems. Then, in the second stage, the predicted variables are substituted as instruments for the endogenous variables that appear on the right hand side of the equation [17]. This method improves the efficiency of the estimation.
3. Data This paper uses a survey data set obtained from the Council for Excellence in Government [18]. The survey randomly sampled 806 adults including an over sample of 155 Internet users. The data were collected between November 12 and 19, 2001 by telephone using the random-digit-dial sampling technique. The sample was stratified by geographic area to ensure a nationally representative sample. According to the final report [14], the sample was weighted according to the demographic makeup of the U.S. population and the margin of error for results among all adults is ± 3.5%. The survey queried citizens about their experience, involvement and perceptions with e-government, and also asked a number
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Proceedings of the 36th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences - 2003
of general questions about satisfaction and trust in government. Dependent variables in the model include internet use, citizen satisfaction with government interaction, citizen satisfaction with government web site transparency, and trust in government. Internet use is operationalized as extent of use on a five point scale. Interaction satisfaction is operationalized as the individual’s expressed level of frustration or satisfaction with “government’s ability to involve the public in decisions regarding national policy (1-4).” This measure is a proxy for individuals’ satisfaction with virtual involvement in policy decisions, which is a limitation of the data for this analysis. Transparency satisfaction was operationalized as the level of “[reliability] of the information provided by government websites (1-5).” Trust in government was operationalized as a combination of responses to four questions: (How often do you think you can trust the government in Washington to do what is right?; How much confidence do you have in the Federal Government; State Government; and Local government (1-4; alpha > 0.75). Attitudinal controls are operationalized as follows. General perception of e-government is measured as a composite of three separately asked questions: “How good a job do you think (the federal, state and local) government is doing in developing e-government information and services (1-5, alpha = 0.80).” Familiarity is measured using the question “How familiar are you with “e-government” (e-government was previously defined in the survey as “government agencies’ use of the Internet and other information technologies).” Risk aversion was measured as a response to two statements, one favoring slow application of the internet for communication between citizens and government due to limited citizen access and security and privacy issues, the other favoring quicker application to improve services, communication and efficiency in government (1-4). Demographic indicators were operationalized using a variety of ordinal scales (education, age, income) and discrete variables (gender, black, white, Hispanic, other race, republican, democrat, independent, other party, rural and non-rural)
4. Findings As shown in Table 1, our results indicate support for West’s previous findings [16]. Education level and income level are positively associated with Internet use, while older people and blacks are less likely to use the internet. These findings tend to provide evidence of a digital divide in which poorer, less educated and black individuals either do not have access or do not use the internet. The model is significant and explains 22% of
the variation in internet use. Missing values reduced the available sample size from 961 to 810. Table 1. Prediction of extent of Internet use Extent of Internet Use Education Level Age Income Level Gender Black White Hispanic Rural Intercept Adjusted R-square Model Significance n
0.18 (0.03) *** -0.11 (0.02) *** 0.21 (0.03) *** 0.01 (0.10) -0.79 (0.29) *** 0.32 (0.22) -0.32 (0.32) -0.17 (0.13) 4.02 (0.33) 0.22
