The influence of transformed government on citizen trust: insights from Bahrain

Narcyz Roztocki and Poitr Soja are the accepting Editors for this article.

ABSTRACT

The trust and confidence of citizens in their governments has been declining in recent decades. Electronic government (e-government) is seen as a means to reverse this trend. Despite conflicting conclusions in the literature, there is a consensus that e-government-led transformation can improve citizen confidence and trust in government. This research investigates the influence of e-government-led transformation on citizen trust and confidence in the context of a developing country, the Kingdom of Bahrain. A conceptual model is developed, tested and validated using an online survey targeting ordinary citizens of the country. Based on 313 responses, the findings suggest that citizen trust and confidence is positively influenced by a government transformation, and this relationship is mediated by both government performance and citizen satisfaction. In addition, the results show that key factors must be met to achieve transformed government through the use of e-government systems: transparency, accountability, and meeting citizens’ expectations.

KEYWORDS:

• Trust and confidence
• e-government
• government
• transformation
• citizens

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Mohamed Mahmood recently received his PhD from Brunel University London. His research is related to the digital-enabled transformation of public sector organizations and its relationship with citizen trust and confidence in government. He holds a Master’s degree in Internet Technology from Aston University (Birmingham, UK) and a BSc degree in Computer Science from the University of Bahrain. He is an independent consultant in the areas of ICT, excellence, and strategic planning and previously served as the Strategic Planning Assistant Director at Ahlia University based in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Prior to that, he worked at the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) of the Kingdom of Bahrain for 12 years, during which he held a number of positions, including head of strategy, project management, spectrum management, technical, and operations. He has more than 18 years of experience in the ICT field and is a member of a number of committees in Bahrain. Additionally, he is a regular speaker at key events in the region.

Vishanth Weerakkody is a Professor of Information Systems Management and Governance at the University of Bradford. Prior to his academic career, he spent several years in industry working in multinational organizations. His research is focused on public sector policy-making, process transformation, and digital government implementation, adoption, and diffusion. He has published more than 150 peer-reviewed articles on these themes and supervises several R&D projects funded by the European Commission, ESRC, and Qatar Foundation. He is the Editor-in-Chief of International Journal of Electronic Government Research.

Dr Weifeng Chen is a consultant on international technology management and innovation strategies. His current research focuses on international business strategies, innovation management, and organizational change. He currently works at Brunel University London.

Notes

Narcyz Roztocki and Poitr Soja are the accepting Editors for this article.