Policies for Enhancing Public Trust and Avoiding Distrust in Digital Government During Pandemics

Policies for Enhancing Public Trust and Avoiding Distrust in Digital Government During Pandemics: Insights from a Systematic Literature Review

Sevinç Çubuk, E.B. (TU Delft Information and Communication Technology; Adnan Menderes University)
Demirdöven, Burcu (Pamukkale University)
Janssen, M.F.W.H.A. (TU Delft Information and Communication Technology)

Saeed, S. (editor)

2021

The coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19) has demonstrated the importance of the state capacity and public policy-making process in managing both the pandemic and the resulting crisis. Trust and/or distrust in the relationship between citizens and authorities can determine the success or failure of states in combating pandemics. The goal of this study is to provide insight into trust and distrust in digital government during pandemics by creating an overview of the scattered knowledge. Accordingly, the chapter creates an overview of the factors influencing trust and distrust in digital government in pandemics. The results showed that factors affecting distrust are mostly associated with problems in the interactions between citizens and public authorities, whereas factors affecting trust address governments’ policy responses and public compliance. The level of trust is a dynamic condition that can either be strengthened or broken. A single factor can result in trust for one person and distrust for another person. Surprisingly, trust and distrust can coexist at the same time. Governments must pursue a balance between trust- and distrust-related factors in times of pandemics to derive the dual benefits of trust and distrust.

Digital government
Distrust
Factors
Pandemics
Systematic literature review
Trust

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:d0658181-e9db-487e-b060-4d827e91a221

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-86274-9_1

Springer

2022-07-01

978-3-030-86274-9-1

Public Administration and Information Technology

Public Administration and Information Technology, 2512-1812, 7

Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository ‘You share, we take care!’ – Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.

Institutional Repository

book chapter

© 2021 E.B. Sevinç Çubuk, Burcu Demirdöven, M.F.W.H.A. Janssen