e-Government and the transformation of service delivery and citizen attitudes

Abstract

The impact of new technology on public-sector service delivery and citizens ’ attitudes about gov-ernment has long been debated by political observers. This article assesses the consequences of e-government for service delivery, democratic responsiveness, and public attitudes over the last three years. Research examines the content of e-government to investigate whether it is taking advantage of the interactive features of the World Wide Web to improve service delivery, demo-cratic responsiveness, and public outreach. In addition, a national public opinion survey examines the ability of e-government to influence citizens ’ views about government and their confidence in the effectiveness of service delivery. Using both Web site content as well as public assessments, I argue that, in some respects, the e-government revolution has fallen short of its potential to trans-form service delivery and public trust in government. It does, however, have the possibility of enhancing democratic responsiveness and boosting beliefs that government is effective. The impact of new technology on information access, government service delivery, and public attitudes about government has long been debated by observers. Each tech-nological innovation—from the movable-type printin