Towards a New Digital Era: Observing Local E-Government Services Adoption in a Chinese Municipality

Abstract

Abstract:As electronic government services (e-government) evolve, traditional applications such as online portals are encountering challenges in a new digital era in which people thirst for more convenient, diverse channels of communication with their government. Despite the efforts devoted to the promotion of Social Networking Service (SNS) use in e-government for the past few years, empirical studies regarding this ongoing trend are still insufficient. In the local administration of China, a special collaboration between local governments and private Internet enterprises is happening: government services are imported into commercial SNS platforms known as WeChat and Weibo. This research conducts a case study of a Chinese municipality premised upon survey data (N = 605) collected in Chongqing. It examines the determinants of e-services adoption in four major local applications: two traditional government-led services "Government website portal" and "Government official app" (traditional government-led services), and two built-in government services on social networking applications "Weibo Government official account" "WeChat Public Services". The paper aims to provide a closer understanding of current trends in local government e-services, or in this case, an innovative trial of Chinese e-government practices.

Factors Influencing the Intention of University Students to Adopt and Use E-Government Services: An Empirical Evidence in China

“…The development and deployment of e-government in China, according to Sodhi (2016), has contributed to improving the administration of state institutions and the delivery of public services to citizens. E-government projects and services are mainly driven by central information and communication technology (ICT) development plans by central government but are mostly implemented at the local level by provincial, municipal, and districts levels of government (Yang, 2017). The development of e-government in China was given a booster with the government's introduction of "Internet Plus Strategy" in 2015, which attempts to provide citizen-centered public services through the enabling environment of ICT in areas such as online health care, citizen participation, public management, and so on (Yang, 2017).…”

“…For instance, in a recent study, it was revealed that Chinese citizens prefer to access e-government services via social networking sites (SNSs) such as WeChat and Weibo as they can easily access services through their smartphones (Yang, 2017). Also, SNSs are emerging as the most convenient outlet for e-government services due to its capacity to generate massive user base within a short time (Yang, 2017). Another study that examined the adoption of mobile government services indicated that factors such as perceived ease of use, near-term usefulness, long-term usefulness, integrity, benevolence, image, and social influence were positive determinants of the intention of Chinese citizens to use mobile government services (Liu et al, 2014).…”

“…Since the inception of e-government development in China, scholars have attempted to understand the factors encouraging the adoption of e-government services among Chinese citizens. For instance, in a recent study, it was revealed that Chinese citizens prefer to access e-government services via social networking sites (SNSs) such as WeChat and Weibo as they can easily access services through their smartphones (Yang, 2017). Also, SNSs are emerging as the most convenient outlet for e-government services due to its capacity to generate massive user base within a short time (Yang, 2017).…”

The Role of E-Governance in Combating COVID-19 and Promoting Sustainable Development: A Comparative Study of China and Pakistan

“…They provide extraordinary convenience to users in their daily life. Government e-services have been combined within the Weibo and WeChat principal platform functions from messaging to payment (Hou 2014). The Chinese model of government services-making use of social networking applications-is an effort to ensure its citizenry uses the services, while other nations may be worried about releasing personal data and outsourcing government services to private corporations (Yang 2017).…”

Innovating a city through citizen participation: could interdisciplinary orientation play a role?

“…The exponential development of ICTs or Social networks impacted almost every facet of our lives and societies, including or especially concerning city governance and public administration; researchers try to respond to these challenges through massive interdisciplinary research [14], [15], [27]. Although some scholars speak about a painful dilemma in public administration -independence or interdisciplinarity [21], governance is considered itself a deeply interdisciplinary concept [32].…”