Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/241270 
Year of Publication: 
2021
Citation: 
[Journal:] Public Administration [ISSN:] 1467-9299 [Volume:] 100 [Issue:] 2 [Publisher:] Blackwell Publishing Ltd [Place:] Oxford, UK [Year:] 2021 [Pages:] 427-443
Publisher: 
Blackwell Publishing Ltd, Oxford, UK
Abstract: 
Although digital interfaces are increasingly pervading public administration, little is known about how replacing face-to-face interaction with digital interfaces affects citizens' satisfaction with public service encounters. This study presents evidence from a vignette experiment conducted on a sample of German citizens (N = 1.234) whereby we randomly varied the type of public service request with regard to its psychological costs, service quality, and the type of interaction (face-to-face, self-service terminal, or app). We found that replacing face-to-face communication with a digital interface has no effect on citizens' satisfaction, nor does it mitigate the effect of psychological costs, service failure, and recovery. Corroborating previous research on service recovery, we found that explaining and apologizing partially compensates for failure. Based on these results, we conclude that using digital interfaces does not undermine the goal to enhance citizen satisfaction with public services.
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Creative Commons License: 
cc-by-nc-nd Logo
Document Type: 
Article
Document Version: 
Published Version

Files in This Item:
File
Size





Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.