article · Transforming Government People Process and Policy
Citizen uptake of electronic government services depends heavily on both personal capability and institutional confidence. An evaluation of 876 users of electronic tax filing platforms examined how user confidence shapes technology acceptance. The analysis demonstrates that trust directly enhances how useful and easy to navigate individuals find these public platforms, which subsequently drives actual usage. Furthermore, digital literacy acts as a crucial moderating factor. When citizens possess stronger digital skills, the positive influence of trust on perceived usefulness and ease of use becomes markedly more pronounced. Successfully scaling digital public administration therefore requires coordinated interventions: public agencies must foster trust by delivering secure, reliable, and transparent digital platforms, while concurrently supporting initiatives that develop digital access and competencies across all population segments.
Governments invest substantial resources into moving services online, yet public uptake often falters if users lack either confidence or technical capability. Showing that digital literacy magnifies the positive impact of trust demonstrates that secure systems alone are insufficient. Public authorities must pair reliable digital infrastructure with community-level skills programmes to ensure public investments achieve their intended reach.
The insights apply to public sector digital transformation programmes and civic technology vendors developing citizen-facing portals, such as electronic tax filing systems. The work is applied research based on survey data from active users. While it does not offer a standalone commercial product, it informs the deployment roadmap for software vendors and public agencies, pointing to interface design that prioritises transparency and security alongside user-support mechanisms.
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Purpose This study aims to examine the role of trust and digital literacy in influencing citizens’ adoption of e-government services. Design/methodology/approach Grounded in the technology acceptance model (TAM), a research model was developed focusing on e-filing services adoption. Hypotheses were formulated to assess the moderating effect of digital literacy on the relationship between trust and the key TAM determinants of perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. A questionnaire-based survey of 876 citizens who have used e-filing using the snow-ball sampling technique was adopted to generate data. The data was analyzed using PLS-SEM through the aid of SmartPLS 4 to assess the measurement model and structural relationships. Findings Trust positively influences perceived usefulness and ease of use, which in turn drive adoption. Additionally, digital literacy significantly moderates the impact of trust on usefulness and ease of use perceptions – the effect is stronger for higher digital literacy. Research limitations/implications The study adopted a single country developing economy context limiting cross-cultural applicability. Second, the focus on e-filing adoption precludes insights across other e-government services. Third, the reliance on perceptual measures risks respondent biases and fourth, the study is a cross-sectional survey design. Practical implications The findings emphasize multifaceted strategies to accelerate e-government adoption. Nurturing citizen trust in e-government systems through enhanced reliability, security and transparency remains vital. Simultaneously, initiatives to cultivate digital access, skills and proficiencies across population segments need to be undertaken. Originality/value This study integrates trust and digital literacy within the theoretical model to provide a more holistic understanding of adoption determinants. It highlights the need for balanced technology-enabled and social interventions to foster acceptance of e-government services.
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DOI: 10.1108/tg-11-2023-0196
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