Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1 M.A., Department of Management, Vali-e-Asr University, Rafsanjan, Iran
2 Associate Professor, Department of Management, Vali-e-Asr University, Rafsanjan, Iran.
Abstract
Introduction
Public trust as people's belief in certain behaviors and actions that they expect to witness from the government and is a sign of the effectiveness and legitimacy of the democratic government, is of particular importance to public affairs managers; So that they try to improve it with the support of their abilities, skills, and independence and by discovering and using the most effective methods and tools. Low public trust in the government or public organizations is an echo of public pessimism. Many people believe that governments do not work well and therefore do not trust them; Therefore, for governments to provide better services to people, they must create an optimal level of public trust. One of the interesting topics for theorists and researchers is to investigate the methods used by governments to reverse the decline of public trust in the government. One of the solutions proposed to improve public trust is the e-government readiness which means the ability of an organization, group, or work unit to successfully join the group of users of information and communication technologies and use and gain profit from it. It has been claimed that e-government and readiness for it can improve public trust by shortening the complicated processes of the bureaucracy, transferring the voice of the people to the government, and reflecting more clearly the government's services to the public. Also, according to another claim, transparency is essential for trusting the government and rebuilding public trust. This is because transparency can help the government by preventing government officials from making mistakes through promoting public oversight and dialogue between citizens and policymakers before making decisions. It is said that information and communication technology is a suitable and affordable means for transparency. Therefore, in recent years, e-government has been used with the aim of increasing transparency. Therefore, it is possible that electronic government can improve public trust in the government by increasing transparency. This theoretical claim has been investigated in the present research.
Materials and Methods
A sample of 311 faculty members of Shiraz public universities was selected and questionnaires according to the variables - whose validity and reliability were tested - were answered by them. In order to test the hypotheses, first, the research measurement models were evaluated with confirmatory factor analysis, and then the data were fitted to structural equation models in Amos Graphics software with multiple regression. Baron and Kenny (1986) method was used to investigate the mediating role of organizational transparency. For this purpose, firstly, the significance of the effect of independent variables on the dependent, independent on the mediator, and mediator on the dependent variables was examined, and then the effect of the mediator variable was kept constant and the insignificance of the independent variable on the dependent variable was evaluated.
Results and Discussion
At the confidence level of 99%, the relationships of the model and the partial mediating role of organizational transparency were confirmed. Therefore, it was found that e-government readiness has a positive effect on organizational transparency, and public trust and organizational transparency are mediators and have an increasing effect on public trust. Earlier research had generally shown that access to more information and increased transparency through information and communication technology enhances public trust in the government among citizens. Although the present study indicated that while the readiness of e-government has a partial direct effect on public trust through organizational transparency, it also possesses the capacity to build public trust on its own.
Conclusion
According to the results, the managers of public organizations are advised to increase various types of organizational transparency, including participatory, informational, accountability, overall, and secretive in the organization. Also, since e-government readiness is considered as one of the ways to increase organizational transparency and public trust, it is suggested that government organizations strengthen it. For this purpose, considering the following points based on the items of the e-government readiness scale is essential: having clear strategies, objectives, and action plans in the field of information technology; directing the goals of the information technology sector towards focusing on internet-based activities; ensuring that the individual or individuals responsible for establishing e-government in the organization have the support and access to senior management; utilizing information technology in all activities and aspects of individuals within the organization; promoting information technology in a way that stakeholders are satisfied with it; changing the service delivery process of the organization under the influence of information technology; collaborating extensively with other public organizations to solve problems, provide services, and perform tasks more effectively electronically; establishing clear processes to compare the e-government strategy in the organization with its current implementation status, as well as continuously monitoring and evaluating e-government activities within the organization; developing standard criteria for the use of information technology by employees and clients; providing quality information to stakeholders; offering suitable software for stakeholders; creating a high-quality website; implementing appropriate security measures for the organization's information technology; using high-quality hardware suitable for the organization's information technology; employing skilled and committed staff in the organization's information technology unit; involving stakeholders in the design, development, and modification of the organization's information technology systems; and ensuring the availability of most hardware, software, and necessary personnel to support them in the workplace.
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