Does e-government impact e-participation? The influence of trust in e-government

Abstract

In Nigeria, the introduction of ICT in the early 2000s propelled e-participation to create more opportunities for citizens to participate in the democratic processes and bridge the public trust deficit gap. This study examines the mediating effect of trust in e-government on the relationship between e-government quality and e-participation using PLS-SEM. We collected data through a structured questionnaire from 369 experienced e-government users. The result shows that the quality of e-government is unrelated to e-participation, while trust in e-government fully mediates the relationship. The implication of these findings suggests that public service managers are to be responsive and transparent in their interactions with the citizens to have greater confidence in the system.