E-Governance in Kerala Analysis of User Perceptions, Service Quality, and Implementation Challenges

Abstract

The current research focuses on investigating the perspectives of users about e-governance as well as issues relating to service quality and implementation in the state of Kerala. For analyzing the perception of users about service quality, five dimensions, namely Information Quality, System Quality, Service Delivery, Accessibility, and Security & Privacy, were measured. The results of this study suggest that user satisfaction with service quality is moderately high (mean = 3.62/5, 72.4%), with the highest contribution coming from Information Quality (3.89) and Service Delivery (3.51). It has been found that service quality dimensions account for 68.2% variation in satisfaction level (R² = 0.682, F = 82.456, p < 0.001). It is observed that User Trust plays a significant mediating role in explaining 30.2% of the service quality satisfaction relationship (c' = 0.546, a = 0.654, indirect effect = 0.182, t = 11.428, p < 0.001). Age, education, and demographic variables had an impact on the level of satisfaction, whereby people in urban areas, younger generations, and those with high levels of education indicated higher satisfaction, whereas those in rural areas, aged persons, and poorly educated individuals experienced difficulties accessing the website. Moreover, the results of the study reveal the most pressing implementation problems associated with poor internet connection (3.84/5) and system errors (3.72/5). This study emphasizes the necessity to address the existing digital divide and make necessary improvements regarding internet access, multiplatform availability, digital literacy, and trust-building measures.