Design and validation of an instrument to measure e-governance through factor analysis

Abstract

E-governance combines the use of electronic means in interaction between government and citizens, government and business, and within government operations to enhance democratic, governmental, and business aspects of governance. Thus, e-governance is built on a paradigmatic dimension such as e-democracy (relationship between government and citizens) and an operational dimension such as e-governance. The objective was to design and validate an instrument to measure e-governance based on three factors: a) e-administration, b) e-services, and c) e-democracy; Methods: Based on the level of importance given to each factor (sample of 2042 Latin American citizens), as well as the relationships between them, an analysis of the importance of each factor is carried out; Results: After the confirmatory analysis, the definitive instrument with which e-governance can be measured by other researchers and future research is obtained, considering the three selection factors, namely: e-administration, e-services and e-democracy; Conclusions: This research contributes to political science through the design and validation of an instrument consisting of 39 items that can be used to measure e-governance according to the dimensions proposed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.