Government Information Quarterly - Information quality and community municipal portal use

Government Information Quarterly

Available online 7 November 2012

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Information quality and community municipal portal use

• Brian Detlor^{a, ,} ,
• Maureen E. Hupfer^a, ,
• Umar Ruhi^b, ,
• Li Zhao^a,

• ^a DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada L8S 4M4
• ^b Telfer School of Management, University of Ottawa, 55 Laurier Avenue East, Ottawa, Canada K1N 6N5

• http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2012.08.004, How to Cite or Link Using DOI

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Abstract

This paper presents an in-depth research investigation of the role information quality plays in the use of community municipal portals. These portals are a new type of website spearheaded by local governments and community agencies in response to citizen calls for a more user-friendly, comprehensive, and convenient way of accessing community-based and local government information via a single entry point. Prior empirical evidence on electronic government adoption and use shapes the study's theoretical model. The model was tested via a survey completed by 1279 respondents across five community municipal portal sites in the province of Ontario, Canada. The survey polled respondents' uptake and perceptions of these portals. Cross-validation using structural equation modeling analysis indicates that information quality plays a critical but indirect role in influencing a person's use of a community municipal portal. In addition, other end-user factors, namely perceived ease of use and compatibility, also affect usage. Importantly, the need to pay attention to the information quality of community municipal portals is raised as a means of rallying citizen response to this new type of website specifically, as well as to local government websites more generally.

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Highlights

► The study's theoretical model extends prior empirical work on electronic government adoption and use. ► Information quality plays an important but indirect role in influencing a person's use of a community municipal portal. ► Data was collected from real users across five community municipal portal sites. ► Results are based on a structural equation modeling analysis on two separate cross-validated samples.

Keywords

• Information quality;
• Local government;
• Community municipal portals;
• Electronic government

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