SERVQUAL as a Socio-Technical Approach to Measuring e-Government Service Quality and Guiding e-Governance Strategies
e-Government services and e-governance have been embraced in many African countries. Nonetheless, measuring the value of e-government remains a challenge. Key to a successful evaluation of progress towards e-governance is the contextual approach, in which ICT is embedded as part of a holistic solut...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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LINK Centre, School of Literature Language and Media (SLLM)
2012-12-01
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| Series: | The African Journal of Information and Communication |
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| Online Access: | https://ajic.wits.ac.za/article/view/13693 |
| _version_ | 1827997060523098112 |
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| author | Hossana Twinomurinzi Mphikeleli Gabriel Zwane Legesse Kassa Debusho |
| author_facet | Hossana Twinomurinzi Mphikeleli Gabriel Zwane Legesse Kassa Debusho |
| author_sort | Hossana Twinomurinzi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
e-Government services and e-governance have been embraced in many African countries. Nonetheless, measuring the value of e-government remains a challenge. Key to a successful evaluation of progress towards e-governance is the contextual approach, in which ICT is embedded as part of a holistic solution to governance. When carried through without considering the complementary influences of society on ICT and of ICT on society, e-government services can lead to little added value, or even to an exacerbation of societal problems and lack of progress towards e-governance. Although much has been written on e-governance in Africa, few authors have extended the discussion to measuring quality of service and lack of progress towards egovernance. In South Africa, the Batho Pele (People First) policy of service quality is the contextual approach within which e-governance is embedded, because of its good governance attributes. This article relates Batho Pele to SERVQUAL, a framework widely used to measure customer service quality in the retail sector, and adapts the framework for measuring service quality in community e-government service centres, known as Thusong Service Centres (TSC). The analysis, using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), is consistent with what is known: service quality in TSCs is low and requires regular measurement and evaluation to inform future quality improvements. The article argues that an adapted SERVQUAL instrument, taking into account Batho Pele principles and situational context, can be used as a guide to innovation in e-government service delivery. It is an appropriate sociotechnical tool to collect data to inform e-governance strategies in African countries which share the same social context as South Africa.
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| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T05:22:26Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6c91c35f950c477d9b94eea47e24ded4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2077-7205 2077-7213 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T05:22:26Z |
| publishDate | 2012-12-01 |
| publisher | LINK Centre, School of Literature Language and Media (SLLM) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The African Journal of Information and Communication |
| spelling | doaj.art-6c91c35f950c477d9b94eea47e24ded42023-03-08T06:32:32ZengLINK Centre, School of Literature Language and Media (SLLM)The African Journal of Information and Communication2077-72052077-72132012-12-011210.23962/10539/19710SERVQUAL as a Socio-Technical Approach to Measuring e-Government Service Quality and Guiding e-Governance StrategiesHossana TwinomurinziMphikeleli Gabriel ZwaneLegesse Kassa Debusho e-Government services and e-governance have been embraced in many African countries. Nonetheless, measuring the value of e-government remains a challenge. Key to a successful evaluation of progress towards e-governance is the contextual approach, in which ICT is embedded as part of a holistic solution to governance. When carried through without considering the complementary influences of society on ICT and of ICT on society, e-government services can lead to little added value, or even to an exacerbation of societal problems and lack of progress towards e-governance. Although much has been written on e-governance in Africa, few authors have extended the discussion to measuring quality of service and lack of progress towards egovernance. In South Africa, the Batho Pele (People First) policy of service quality is the contextual approach within which e-governance is embedded, because of its good governance attributes. This article relates Batho Pele to SERVQUAL, a framework widely used to measure customer service quality in the retail sector, and adapts the framework for measuring service quality in community e-government service centres, known as Thusong Service Centres (TSC). The analysis, using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), is consistent with what is known: service quality in TSCs is low and requires regular measurement and evaluation to inform future quality improvements. The article argues that an adapted SERVQUAL instrument, taking into account Batho Pele principles and situational context, can be used as a guide to innovation in e-government service delivery. It is an appropriate sociotechnical tool to collect data to inform e-governance strategies in African countries which share the same social context as South Africa. https://ajic.wits.ac.za/article/view/13693e-government service qualitye-governance strategiesmeasurementsocio-technical approach |
| spellingShingle | Hossana Twinomurinzi Mphikeleli Gabriel Zwane Legesse Kassa Debusho SERVQUAL as a Socio-Technical Approach to Measuring e-Government Service Quality and Guiding e-Governance Strategies The African Journal of Information and Communication e-government service quality e-governance strategies measurement socio-technical approach |
| title | SERVQUAL as a Socio-Technical Approach to Measuring e-Government Service Quality and Guiding e-Governance Strategies |
| title_full | SERVQUAL as a Socio-Technical Approach to Measuring e-Government Service Quality and Guiding e-Governance Strategies |
| title_fullStr | SERVQUAL as a Socio-Technical Approach to Measuring e-Government Service Quality and Guiding e-Governance Strategies |
| title_full_unstemmed | SERVQUAL as a Socio-Technical Approach to Measuring e-Government Service Quality and Guiding e-Governance Strategies |
| title_short | SERVQUAL as a Socio-Technical Approach to Measuring e-Government Service Quality and Guiding e-Governance Strategies |
| title_sort | servqual as a socio technical approach to measuring e government service quality and guiding e governance strategies |
| topic | e-government service quality e-governance strategies measurement socio-technical approach |
| url | https://ajic.wits.ac.za/article/view/13693 |
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