Digital government and citizen trust: A systematic review aimed at building an evidence-based methodological agenda
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
The digital transformation of the public sector has been promoted as a key mechanism for improving administrative efficiency and strengthening citizen trust; however, the available empirical evidence has shown methodological limitations that restrict a comprehensive understanding of these processes. In this context, this article aimed to formulate an evidence-based research agenda that establishes methodological guidelines for integrating qualitative and mixed-methods approaches in future studies on the impact of digital government on citizen trust, identifying at least five priority areas derived from gaps detected in the literature. A systematic review article was developed according to PRISMA guidelines, through the synthesis of recent empirical studies published in indexed databases. The results showed a marked predominance of cross-sectional quantitative designs, as well as a limited representation of qualitative and mixed-methods approaches, which has restricted the analysis of causal mechanisms associated with perceived justice, institutional experience, digital co-production, and public values. Based on these findings, five priority areas were proposed: strengthening longitudinal mixed-methods designs, differentiating dimensions of trust, incorporating digital literacy, deepening ethical governance, and promoting citizen participation. It was concluded that the advancement of the field requires a methodological shift toward integrated approaches capable of capturing the socio-technical complexity of digital government and its impact on institutional legitimacy
Downloads
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
El contenido de los artículos es responsabilidad exclusiva de los autores.
Debe cumplir con los siguientes aspectos de la licencia CC BY NC ND :
- Atribución: debe otorgar el crédito correspondiente, proporcionar un enlace a la licencia e indicar si se realizó algún cambio. Puede hacerlo de cualquier manera razonable, pero no de ninguna manera que sugiera que el licenciante lo respalda a usted o su uso.
- No comercial: el material no se puede utilizar con fines comerciales.
- Sin derivados: si remezcla, transforma o construye sobre el material, no puede distribuir el material modificado.
- Sin restricciones adicionales: No se pueden aplicar términos legales o medidas tecnológicas que restrinjan legalmente a otros de hacer cualquier cosa que permita la licencia.
References
Afrizal, Munaf, Y., Yogia, M. A., Suri, D. M., Prayuda, R., & Amri, P. (2023). Government-owned digital services to overcome the spread of COVID-19: Case in Indonesia. International Journal of Sustainable Development and Planning, 18(5), 1553–1563. Documento en línea. Disponible https://doi.org/10.18280/ijsdp.180526
Al-Haddad, S., Sharabati, A.-A., Al Khasawneh, M., Mazahreh, S. A., & Kawar, Y. T. (2023). Behavioral acceptance of electronic government in Jordan. International Journal of Electronic Government Research, 19(1). Documento en línea. Disponible https://doi.org/10.4018/IJEGR.321459
Alyileili, M., & Opoku, A. (2026). Sustainable and inclusive AI governance in municipal self-service systems: Ethical, smart-government, and generative AI perspectives. Sustainability, 18(2), 849. Documento en línea. Disponible https://doi.org/10.3390/su18020849
Ardiputra, S., Milyan, M., Akhmad, Z., Sulthan, M., & Ardiputra, M. A. (2025). Optimizing budget policy in village fund allocation (ADD): A governance and public administration perspective on rural development. Frontiers in Political Science, 7, 1581806. Documento en línea. Disponible https://doi.org/10.3389/fpos.2025.1581806
Bodó, B., & Janssen, H. (2022). Maintaining trust in a technologized public sector. Policy and Society, 41(3), 414–429. Documento en línea. Disponible https://doi.org/10.1093/polsoc/puac019
Cagigas, D., Clifton, J., Díaz-Fuentes, D., Fernández-Gutiérrez, M., Echevarría-Cuenca, J., & Gilsanz-Gómez, C. (2022). Explaining public officials’ opinions on blockchain adoption: A vignette experiment. Policy and Society, 41(3), 343–357. Documento en línea. Disponible https://doi.org/10.1093/polsoc/puab022
Chi, J., Kamarudin, S., & Rahman, S. (2024). Connecting pixels to trust: A systematic review of the relationship between government social media usage and citizens’ trust in government. Studies in Media and Communication, 12(3), 201. Documento en línea. Disponible https://doi.org/10.11114/smc.v12i3.6797
Chumbiauca-Castillo, J. (2024). Strategic planning and its relationship with e-government: A systematic literature review. International Journal of Professional Business Review, 9(10), e04961. Documento en línea. Disponible https://doi.org/10.26668/businessreview/2024.v9i10.4961
Dobrolyubova, E. I. (2022). Evaluating digital government performance using surveys: International literature review and prospects for future research. Public Administration Issues (Special Issue I), 152–181. Documento en línea. Disponible https://doi.org/10.17323/1999-5431-2022-0-5-152-181
Fadrial, R., Sujianto, S., Simanjuntak, H., & Wirman, W. (2024). A qualitative study on the influencing factors of e-government adoption to improve public trust in local government: Case study of Rokan Hulu Municipality. Indonesian Journal of Computer Science, 13(3). Documento en línea. Disponible https://doi.org/10.33022/ijcs.v13i3.3931
Faller, N. L. (2024). Analysis on political, social, and technical characteristics of e-governance in Eastern Visayas, Philippines. Environment and Social Psychology, 9(12), 3300. Documento en línea. Disponible https://doi.org/10.59429/esp.v9i12.3300
Fazil, A. W., Hakimi, M., Aslamzai, S., & Quch, M. M. (2024). A review of e-government practices in the age of digitalization. International Journal of Multidisciplinary Approach Research and Science, 2(2), 511–527. Documento en línea. Disponible https://doi.org/10.59653/ijmars.v2i02.568
Fifaliana, R. M. (2026). A systematic literature review of empirical research on the impact of e-government use on citizens’ trust in government. Chinese Public Administration Review. Documento en línea. Disponible https://doi.org/10.1177/15396754251413048
Hakeem, M. J., & Sulphey, M. M. (2025). An evaluation of factors affecting the acceptance of smart city ICT services in India. Public Administration and Policy. Documento en línea. Disponible https://doi.org/10.1108/PAP-07-2024-0114
Homburg, V., & Moody, R. (2021). Citizens’ social media adoption in Paraguay. Brazilian Journal of Public Administration, 55(5), 1077–1100. Documento en línea. Disponible https://doi.org/10.1590/0034-761220200793
Hutahaean, M., Eunike, I. J., & Silalahi, A. D. K. (2023). Do social media, good governance, and public trust increase citizens’ e-government participation? Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies. Documento en línea. Disponible https://doi.org/10.1155/2023/9988602
Isabella, Agustian, E., Baharuddin, T., & Ibrahim, A. H. H. (2025). Bridging e-government with digital literacy: A literature review. Journal of Governance & Regulation, 14(1), 361–371. Documento en línea. Disponible https://doi.org/10.22495/jgrv14i1siart12
Jabri, A., & Ahmad, M. M. (2025). E-service quality and public trust: A foundation for effective digital service delivery in Northern Tunisian municipalities. Social Sciences & Humanities Open, 12, 102308. Documento en línea. Disponible https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssaho.2025.102308
Kiram, D., Kiram, M., & Hamsaji, A. (2024). Bridging the archipelago: E-governance and access to public services in Sulu, Philippines. Economy, 2(2), 147–159. Documento en línea. Disponible https://doi.org/10.61996/economy.v2i2.773
Lee, T. D., Park, H., & Lee, J. (2019). Collaborative accountability for sustainable public health: A Korean perspective on ICT-based health risk communication. Government Information Quarterly, 36(2), 226–236. Documento en línea. Disponible https://doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2018.12.008
Mego, M. L. S., Farroñan, R. L. S., Vásquez, E. E. B., & Rodríguez, V. H. P. (2023). New e-government strategies in Peruvian universities. Journal of Law and Sustainable Development, 11(2), e703. Documento en línea. Disponible https://doi.org/10.55908/sdgs.v11i2.703
Morales Rocha, J. L., Coyla Zela, M. A., Morillos Valderrama, S. O., & Quispe Mamani, D. (2023). Gobierno abierto en municipalidades del Perú como alternativa para generar confianza en los ciudadanos. Revista Venezolana de Gerencia, 28(102), 459–476. Documento en línea. Disponible https://doi.org/10.52080/rvgluz.28.102.2
Moskvych, L., Kryvov, I., Dobroboh, L., Shevchyshyn, O., & Riaboshapka, Y. (2025). Contribution of civil society to holding public authorities accountable: Emerging tools for engagement. OIDA International Journal of Sustainable Development, 18(10).
Nurlinah, Ansar, M. C., & Chowdhury, K. (2025). Impact of government digital transformation on citizen trust and participation: Evidence from Gowa Regency, Indonesia. Frontiers in Human Dynamics, 7, 1700582. Documento en línea. Disponible https://doi.org/10.3389/fhumd.2025.1700582
Paneva, T., & Kaharevic, A. (2023). In e-government we trust? Correlating factors of e-government use in the Western Balkan and EU countries. Balkan Social Science Review, 22, 293–319.
Ranerup, A., & Henriksen, H. Z. (2019). Value positions viewed through automated decision-making. Government Information Quarterly, 36, 101377. Documento en línea. Disponible https://doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2019.05.004
Rodriguez Müller, A. P., Martin Bosch, J., & Tangi, L. (2025). Expected public values from blockchain adoption in the European public sector. International Journal of Public Sector Management, 38(1), 53–76. Documento en línea. Disponible https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPSM-12-2023-0363
Sakuntala, S. S., Sarakanam, S., Dhavan, A., Taggar, R., & Kohli, G. (2024). IT trends for combating corruption in India. Public Administration and Policy, 27(2), 126–139. Documento en línea. Disponible https://doi.org/10.1108/PAP-05-2023-0058
Samudra, A. A. (2025). Integration of public administration and governance theory to combat corruption in Indonesia. Public Administration Issues, (6), 117–140. Documento en línea. Disponible https://doi.org/10.17323/1999-5431-2025-0-6-117-140
Sembinova, M., Salykova, L., & Khalid, N. (2025). ISO 31000 in digital public governance: A systematic review. Public Administration and Civil Service, 95(4), 78–88. Documento en línea. Disponible https://doi.org/10.52123/1994-2370-2025-1631
Shah, F., Shah, A., & Jabbar, A. (2025). The impact of e-governance implementation on public trust and service efficiency. AMAR, 3(3), 54–62. Documento en línea. Disponible https://doi.org/10.63075/3yey1t51
Taufiqurokhman, T., Satispi, E., Andriansyah, A., Murod, M., & Sulastri, E. (2024). Impact of e-service quality on public trust and satisfaction. International Journal of Data and Network Science, 8, 765–772. Documento en línea. Disponible https://doi.org/10.5267/j.ijdns.2024.1.002
Tubekova, D., Almukhambetova, B., & Izatullayeva, B. (2023). Open government data and citizen trust in Kazakhstan. Public Policy and Administration, 22(4), 519–534. Documento en línea. Disponible https://doi.org/10.13165/VPA-23-22-4-10
Wang, Y. (2025). Role of Yueshengshi in smart city development. International Journal of Sustainable Development and Planning, 20(3), 1143–1154. Documento en línea. Disponible https://doi.org/10.18280/ijsdp.200320
Wujarso, R., Hakim, A. R., Faizah, N., Yasin, V., & Andhitiyara, R. (2025). Digital Transformation in Public Sector Institutions: A Systematic Literature Review and Comparative Country Analysis. AL-ISHLAH: Jurnal Pendidikan, 17(4).
Xanthopoulou, P., Antoniadis, I., & Avlogiaris, G. (2023). Drivers of digital governance adoption. Problems and Perspectives in Management, 21(4), 454–467. Documento en línea. Disponible https://doi.org/10.21511/ppm.21(4).2023.35
Yuan, Y.-P., Dwivedi, Y. K., Tan, G. W.-H., Cham, T.-H., Ooi, K.-B., Aw, E. C.-X., & Currie, W. (2023). Government digital transformation. Government Information Quarterly, 40, 101775. Documento en línea. Disponible https://doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2022.101775