A framework for Evaluating E-Government Services Quality

Abstract

Extended Abstract Abstract Over the past decade, e-government domain has attracted a lot of attention throughout the world. to get Desirable level of satisfaction, Governments seek to provide high quality services to citizens. However, to provide high quality services, it is essential to study the evaluation method of e-government services quality. In this study, firstly, by systematic review of previous studies, models and frameworks for assessing the quality of traditional, electronic and e-government services have been identified and a list of dimensions has been developed to assess the quality of provided services. Therefore, in this research, 14 service quality evaluation framework/models (traditional, e-government, and e-government) have been systematically reviewed and extracted according to research questions analyzed and a framework for assessing the quality of e-government services has been provided. The goal is to cover the weaknesses of different models with the strengths of other framework/models and to improve the defects in the new framework. Then, considering the situation in Iran, the dimensions and components of the proposed framework were presented by a questionnaire consisting of a semi-structured questionnaire (a combination of open and closed questions) with a survey of e-government experts, an analysis and model for Iran. Introduction E-government online services include doing transactions through online channels. In recent years, the issue that governments face is the quality of services in public sector. The influence of ICT and the use of these technologies in the public sector over the past decade are a new method with the aim of providing efficient government information management, better services and transparency for the public. Many organizations have begun evaluating and measuring the quality of services they provide. Providing services with the help of Internet saves time and money of citizens. Most organizations face problems when assessing the quality of services they provide to customers. These problems include assessing the existence of defects in the provision of services or the delivery of services within the defined time frame. Thus, the prerequisite for achieving a high level of quality is the ability to measure the quality of a service. In recent years, the issue facing governments is the quality of services in the public sector. According to the United Nations Department of Social and Economic Affairs, the online service index for the years 2010, 2012, 2014, and 2016 is 0.26, 0.49, 0.37 and 0.33, respectively. Obviously, each of the e-government quality assessment models has its strengths and weaknesses and the specific model of Iran should be made according to the country's situation. So, the main questions of this research are: 1- what are the dimensions of e-government services quality assessment? 2- what is the significance of each indicator? 3- What is the proper model of Iran for assessing the quality of e-government services? Therefore, studying the frameworks and concepts related to the assessment of the quality of e-government online services is essential in order to improve the level of services and citizens' satisfaction. Materials and Methods Previously, systematic review method has been used to study previous studies. E-government service quality assessment approaches have been reviewed and basic model indicators extracted. Four areas (technical, organizational, information and service) and 24 dimensions were identified according to the studies. The dimensions identified are sorted by degree of relevance to each domain. Experts were asked to first determine if the dimensions were relevant to the domain, and then determine how effective each dimension might be in assessing the quality of e-government online services. In addition, if other than the above factors, another special case can be considered. Finally, non-parametric binomial assumption test is used to determine the importance of indices and trivial indices are eliminated and Friedman test is used to rank the domains and its components. Conclusion Given the growing procedure of technology and the daily access of individuals to the Internet, the provision of online services is spreading throughout the world. This paper a framework for quality assessment of e-government online serviced is presented. This framework involves the different types of provided services, from traditional services to e-government services. After reviewing previous researches ­­14 methods and indicators were identified. None of the 14 them consider all the indicators. This framework, considers 24 indicators for evaluating the quality of e-government online services. These indicators are divided into 4 dimensions. This framework is a tool that describes the result of indicators evaluation in their own dimension. After doing analyses web visual appeal didn’t receive much importance but 5 indicators of interoperability, providing services on any device, operating system or browser, service process management, human resource knowledge level and service delivery through e-platforms that were not mentioned in previous researches were added to the framework.

Keywords

• service
• service quality
• e- service
• e-government