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TG
6,3 Evaluation of government e-tax
websites: an information quality
and system quality approach
300
Parmita Saha
Department of Engineering and Science, Sogn og Fjordane University College,
Received 16 March 2011
Revised 18 July 2011, Sogndal, Norway
17 February 2012 Atanu K. Nath
Accepted 7 March 2012
Faculty of Social Sciences, Sogn og Fjordane University College,
Sogndal, Norway, and
Esmail Salehi-Sangari
Division of Industrial Marketing, KTH, Royal Institute of Technology,
Stockholm, Sweden

Abstract
Purpose – Despite the growth in adoption of technology by governments, the assessment of quality
in electronically delivered public services has been relatively lacking. Past researches on information
systems have identified information and service quality, system use, playfulness, and system design
quality as critical factors of successful service delivery in e-commerce. The purpose of this paper is to
empirically test the applicability of system and information quality criteria in evaluating government
e-services websites. The main research problem identified in this study was “what are the system and
information quality characteristics of government service delivery websites?”
Design/methodology/approach – Based on a survey of 97 Municipalities from all the 21 regions of
Sweden, the authors examine the presence of system quality features, specifically functionality,
navigation, and accessibility; and measures of information quality in government websites.
A systematic random sampling was chosen as the suitable approach; 290 municipalities are organized
in 21 counties and we have chosen every 3rd number of municipalities from the list. An online survey
was conducted, with 408 valid responses taken. A confirmatory factor analysis was conducted for
system and information quality.
Findings – Results indicate that accessibility and the navigation facility are important in
determining a citizen’s perceived system quality. Information preciseness, timeliness, and sufficiency
were found to be key measures of information quality in government e-services. Furthermore, an
important finding from this research is that theories from information systems (IS), e-commerce, and
marketing were found to be applicable in assessing government e-tax services within the broader area
of government-to-citizen (G2C) service delivery systems. In addition, a quantitative study was
conducted among citizens to determine system and information quality characteristics.
Originality/value – The results presented in this paper can help the authorities to identify key
quality criteria for e-tax services that are valued by citizens and consequently improve service levels.
Taking the context into consideration, additional variables are incorporated from literature that spans
several disciplines (IS, e-commerce, and marketing), and some re-specifications are made to identify
system and information quality criteria in the context of an e-tax filing service, which was the main
Transforming Government: People, theoretical contribution of this study.
Process and Policy
Vol. 6 No. 3, 2012 Keywords Sweden, Government policy, Public services, Web sites, Information management, Taxes,
pp. 300-321 e-governance, e-tax services, Information quality, System quality
q Emerald Group Publishing Limited
1750-6166 Paper type Research paper
DOI 10.1108/17506161211251281
Introduction Government
With the rapid growth in usage of information technology and the web, governments are e-tax websites
also increasingly using these technologies in delivering services at all levels, with a view
to increase quality of service and achieving efficiency in their operations. E-government
is stated to be the process by which information and services are electronically delivered
to its customers, which includes citizens, businesses, and public administration alike
(Irani et al., 2008). Latif and Masrek (2010) further specify that the key feature of 301
electronic government delivery is usage of internet technologies through web-based
interfaces, enabling people to have access to resources and services anywhere
and anytime.
Curtin (2006) identified the purpose of the e-government sites as the tool to provide
an efficient management of government information to all citizens, giving better
services to the community, and to empower people through access to information and
participation in public decision making. While e-government initiatives are responsible
for managing and organizing a variety of information, Freed (2009) further states that
successful web sites should enable the public to find required information quickly and in
an easily searchable manner. Thus, the search function, functionality, and navigation
become important for the execution of those responsibilities.
Studies show there have been considerable increases in presence and availability of
e-government digital services (GDS) the past few years, with over 83 percent of basic
GDSs being available on-line as of 2009 (Colclough and Tinholt, 2009). Based on similar
studies conducted in 2006 and 2007 (Colclough, 2007; Wauters and Colclough, 2006), it
may be surmised that interest in GDS on the part of public administrations has
remained strong and has risen over the years. However, Bavec (2008) points out that
many available GDSs are scantily accessed or used by citizens, and there are gaps
between developer expectations and public approval. Thus, in real usage terms the
availability of the GDS do not necessarily translate into the sites being effective in
terms of the quality desired by citizens.
Markaki et al. (2010) have stressed the need for comprehensive web site evaluations
to understand the influence of factors affecting quality of e-government web sites.
They cite three specific areas that can benefit as rationale for such evaluations: proper
allocation of resources for relevant implementations; construction and operation of an
e-government web site being directly related to government images; and the associated
management and service levels. This is further echoed by Luo and Shi (2010), who state
that how to strengthen the evaluation and establish a scientific index system to solve
the problem in the development of e-government web sites has become a problem
which cannot be ignored.
Quality has emerged as one of the important issues in the industry (manufacturing,
healthcare, education and government) during the last several years and in order to gain
a competitive advantage it is important to focus on the issue “how to improve their
quality”. From the customer’s viewpoint, quality can be achieved when customer’s
expectations are met regarding the product or service being delivered (Chang et al.,
2005). In the context of this study citizens are considered as customer for e-government
service. “Quality is positioned to provide the key information regarding the quality of the
system, information and service unit as they impact on stakeholders” (Wilkin and
Hewett, 1999). The assessment of quality has been relatively less studied with respect to
public services (Ray and Rao, 2004). A renewed focus on such could be important since,
TG to identify areas of improvement in public services provided, citizen perception of such
6,3 services needs to be objectively measured (Irani et al., 2008). At the same time
e-government efforts take on the objective of enhancing efficiency of government
organizations, better accountability, as well as quality enhancement of services delivered
along with creation of new services (Heeks, 2001; Irani et al., 2005; Seifert and Peterson,
2002). These efforts have been driven in part by the increased comfort, familiarity, and
302 exposure the citizens now have with information and communication technologies and
more specifically the internet in their myriad applications in their daily lives, particularly
in the commercial sectors. This has also increased citizen’s expectations that the public
sector needs to reflect similar levels of effectiveness and efficiency in its services delivery
(Ebrahim and Irani, 2005). This takes on added importance when we consider that for any
relationship between citizens and governments to be meaningful, citizen’s perspectives
on services provided need to be measured in an objective manner in order to identify areas
of improvement (Irani et al., 2008). This puts the onus back on assessing quality of
e-government services and the modalities of their provisions.
It is difficult to study every aspect of e-government services within the scope of
a single research. Therefore, it is essential that limit the area where we can focus.
Accordingly, this research focuses on government e-tax services in Sweden and the aim
is to identify system and information quality criteria of the government tax web site. The
online tax filing system is a type of government to customer (G2C) electronic service,
which provides an opportunity of availing online tax services to taxpayers. Thus, this
research is limited to evaluating G2C e-service as a part of the e-government domain.
The study also limits its evaluation of system and information quality criteria of e-tax
web sites.
Based on the brief discussion, we arrive at the objective of this paper. The main
research question for this paper is formulated as:
RQ1. What are system and information quality characteristics of government
service delivery web sites?
The study is conducted in the context of Skatteverket.se, the e-tax web site in Sweden.
Compared with other online services delivered by government, online tax filing is one
of the most developed and widely-used services. In the public sector, with the move to
online service being provided, tax authorities tended to be leading edge in adoption of
IT applications. Careful consideration of citizen’s perception and expectation is
important in making this service effective and the service delivery process should be
more user friendly compared with the service delivered by traditional channels. Since
perceived quality is one of the important determinants of web success, user perception
and expectations need to be identified. The systems need to be clear and simple in
order to be used by the ordinary tax payer (Connolly and Bannister, 2008). The
advantage of online service delivery lies in the fact that system designers have added
flexibility in designing sites so that the services and the content provided can match
the needs of the clients. The idea is that such design approaches facilitate navigation,
searching of information and retrieval of such, and thus meet the needs of the
citizens (Wang et al., 2005). Irani et al. (2008) have raised a valid criticism that
Wang et al.’s (2005) model considers e-government web site specific features and is
bound to have its limitations when evaluating services based on other platforms.
Recognizing the limitations of the application context in view, this study focuses on the
system and information quality aspects of the e-government web site. Sweden is one Government
of the leading countries in the Western world that has proactively engaged in e-tax websites
incorporating e-governance strategies extensively. E-tax services run by Skatteverket
are a primary example of such strategies being put into action, and this study was
conducted within their context.
The major contribution of this research is that it identifies and empirically tests the
applicability of system and information quality criteria taken from extant ARE 303
research in evaluating government e-services web sites.
In the next section we shall review and discuss previous literature concerning
the study area. We then present the theoretical model and related hypotheses and
follow this by the data and measurements. The analysis and results are subsequently
discussed along with their managerial implications. We conclude the paper with
recommendations for future research.

Theoretical background
Since the study focuses on evaluating e-government services through system and
information quality constructs, it may be worthwhile identifying what services
constitute e-government services. There is no universally applicable definition of
e-government; however, there are a few characteristics that help identify e-government
services (Irani et al., 2006; Al-Sebie and Irani, 2003). They are:
.
technology to deliver government services electronically;
.
transaction processes and the transformation of e-government services;
.
benefit portfolio for delivery of government services electronically to the public;
.
citizens as the central focus of service delivery; and
.
delivery of government services through a single online point of access –
defining e-government.

Thus, delivery of government services electronically and keeping citizens as the

focus of service delivery are two recurring themes in literature. Similarly, measuring
web site quality is an important concern for the IS and marketing research areas
(Lociacono et al. 2000). Widespread use of internet technology creates a need to identify
the factors that are related to web site success (Liu and Arnett, 2000; Aladwania and
Palvia, 2002). Lociacono et al. (2000) established a scale called WEBQUAL for consumer
evaluation of web sites with 12 dimensions: informational fit to task; interaction; trust;
response time; design; intuitiveness; visual appeal; innovativeness; flow; integrated
communication; business processes; and substitutability. Based on IS and marketing
literature Liu and Arnett (2000) identified measurement of web site success in the context
of electronic commerce. They have identified system quality, learning capabilities,
playfulness, system quality, system use, and service quality as the success factors
for web sites based on a survey of 1,000 companies. From the results they identified
four factors that are important to web site success in e-commerce. These factors
are information and service quality, system use, playfulness, and system design quality.
Kim and Stoel (2004) have tried to determine the dimensions of web site quality and
which dimensions are significant determinants of user satisfaction in apparel retailers.
They conducted a survey on 273 female online apparel shoppers and the study was
conducted from customer’s perspective. In their study they have used the WEBQUAL
TG instrument that was developed by Lociacono et al. (2000). The results found six dimensions
6,3 of web site quality: web appearance, entertainment, informational fit-to-task, transaction
capability, response time, and trust. However, not all these factors are determinants of user
satisfaction. Only informational fit-to-task, transaction capability, and response time have
a significant impact on user satisfaction. Aladwania and Palvia (2002) have developed an
instrument from users’ perspectives that covered the characteristics of web site quality.
304 They developed 25 items with four dimensions of web site quality. These dimensions are
specific content, content quality, appearance and technical adequacy.
Based on the IS success model Cao et al. (2005) developed the factors that determine
e-commerce web site quality which make a web site effective. They conducted a survey
among students who are familiar with internet shopping. According to them, four factors
are important to determine web site quality from customer’s perspective. These factors
are functionality, content, service and attractiveness. Findings from their study indicate
that customers are more sensitive with finding more accurate information, security and
fast search facilities. So web sites should be designed accordingly that will create an
opportunity for users to find accurate information, easier search facilities, less loading
time and ensure security. Smith (2001) has developed several criteria to evaluate a
government web site and they have tested these criteria on a government web site to see
their applicability. They have divided these criteria into two groups: information content
criteria and ease to use criteria. Zviran et al. (2005) conducted a study to find out important
factors that drive user satisfaction from the web site. They have empirically tested user
satisfaction of different web sites and determined two characteristics: usability and
user-based designed. Based on an IS and e-commerce success model Stockdale and
Borovicka (2006) developed web site evaluation instrument and tested it through a pilot
study on tourism web site. Based on the previous studies they developed system quality,
information quality and service quality criteria to evaluate a tourism web site.
Following the above discussion, several quality criteria have been identified for the
evaluation of web sites from a user’s perspective. This study tries to identify several
quality criteria for evaluation of government web sites from citizens’ perspectives and
empirically tests them in the context of government e-tax web sites. Quality criteria
were divided further into system and information quality criteria following
the previous study conducted in this field.

Characteristics of system and information quality

Wangpipatwong et al. (2005) stressed that factors related to system quality and
information quality significantly influence the adoption of e-government web sites.
In doing so, they identified functionality, reliability, usability, and efficiency as system
quality characteristics, and observed that efficiency is the most important factor in
a government web site. Accuracy, relevancy, completeness, timeliness, and precision,
which are information quality criteria in government web sites, are identified in their
study. Additionally, they found timeliness and precision to be less important compared
with other information quality criteria (Wangpipatwong et al., 2005). Barnes and Vidgen
(2006) evaluated the quality of the government web site from a user’s perspective.
They adapted the eQual instrument – usability, information quality and service
interaction – to measure government web site quality (Table I).
According to the IS success model, system quality is concerned with the measurement
of the actual system that produces the output (DeLone and McLean, 1992, pp. 64).
Author Description of the measures Area of the study

DeLone and McLean (2003) Adaptability, availability, reliability, response time, Success of e-commerce context
usability
Bailey and Pearson (1983) Response/turnaround time, convenience of access, Analyzing computer user satisfaction
understanding of systems
Confidence in the systems, integration of the system
Baroudi and Orlikowski (1988) Understanding of system, time required for new Measure of user information satisfaction
system development
Seddon and Kiew (1996) Easy to use Success factors in the university’s departmental
User friendly accounting system
Easy to learn
Easy to get done what I want it to do
Easy for me to become skillful
Cumbersome to use
Requires a lot of mental effort to use
Use is often frustrating
McKinney et al. (2002) Access: responsive, quick loads Measurement of web customer satisfaction
Usability: simple layout, easy to use, well-organized,
clear design
Entertainment: visually attractive, fun, interesting
Hyperlinks: adequacy of links, clear description of
links
Navigation: easy to go back and forth, a few clicks
Interactivity: create list of items, change list of items,
create customized product, select different features
Rai et al. (2002) Ease of use Success factors in integrated SIS at university
User friendly
Ease to use
Cao et al. (2005) Multimedia capability: web site uses audio elements, B2C e-commerce web site quality
video elements, animation/graphics, and multimedia
features properly
(continued)
Government

system quality
e-tax websites

Measures of
Table I.
305
 6,3
TG

306

Table I.
Author Description of the measures Area of the study

Search facility: clear indication of site’s content, well-

organized hyperlinks, structure of the site is logical,
easy navigation, explanation of how to use site, easy
to find information
Responsiveness: proper response time, fast
searching, reasonable time for searching, reasonable
loading time, responsive to user inquires
Li (1997) Response/turnaround time, convenience of access, IS success factors
features of computer language used, realization of
user requirements, correction of errors, security of
data and models, documentation of systems and
procedures, flexibility of the systems, integration of
the systems
Wangpipatwong et al. (2005) Functionality: web site always works correctly, web Factors influencing the adoption of e-government
site provides necessary information and forms to be web sites
downloaded, web site provides necessary
transactions to be completed online, and web site
provides helpful instructions
Reliability: web site is available at all times
Web site is secure
Usability
Web site is easy to use
Web site is attractive
Efficiency
Web site can save citizens’ time
Web site can save citizens’ expense
Roldán and Leal (2003) Faster access to information Success factors in Spanish EIS
Easier and more comfortable access to information
Availability of improved access to the organizational
database
Have the benefit of new or additional information
Enjoy an improved presentation of data
According to McKinney et al. (2002), web site information and system quality are the Government
key constructs of web customer satisfaction. They defined system quality relative to e-tax websites
site success as the customers’ perception of a web site’s performance in information
retrieval and delivery. Web customers’ perception of the quality of information
presented on a web site is defined as web information quality. Information quality is
concerned with the measure of the system’s output (DeLone and McLean, 2004). Based
on the IS literature, Chen (2010) identifies the quality antecedents of tax payer 307
satisfaction for online tax payment systems. They also identify information and
system quality as important quality criteria for government online tax web sites.
System quality in the internet environment measures the desired characteristics of an
e-commerce system (DeLone and McLean, 2003, 2004). It is important to evaluate the web
site functionality that focuses on online service functions provided by the web site.
Availability of the web site at all times and the speed of access of the web site is essential.
In addition, it is also important to judge navigation characteristics of the web site and
evaluate the presence of links for needed information (McKinney et al., 2002; Cao et al.,
2002). Information quality is concerned with issues such as the relevance, timeliness, and
accuracy of the information generated by an IS (DeLone and McLean, 2003, 2004). In the
e-commerce context, information delivery is an important role of web sites, and quality is
considered a critical issue (McKinney et al., 2002). Several quality evaluation aspects are
essential, including the correctness of the output information, the availability of the
output information at a time suitable for its use, and the comprehensiveness of the output
information content (Bailey and Pearson, 1983). It is also important to consider issues
such as relatedness, clearness, and goodness of the information (McKinney et al., 2002).
Rai et al. (2002) studied users of a computerized student information system (SIS) and
found system quality and information quality to be determinants of satisfaction. They
have taken system quality as ease of use and defined it as the “degree to which the
system is user friendly,” and they measured information quality content, accuracy, and
format, the three attributes generated by SIS. Roca et al. (2006) completed their study on
understanding e-learning continuance intention and found that information quality and
system quality are significant determinants of satisfaction. Li (1997) conducted a study
on perceived importance of IS success factors. Based on the previous studies, several
additional factors of IS success have been identified. The results of the study identified
five important factors: accuracy of output, reliability of output, relationship between
users and the CBIS staff, user’s confidence in the systems, and timeliness of output.
Iivari (2005) empirically tested DeLone and McLean’s IS success model in the
organization’s new IS. The results of the study suggested that perceived system
quality and perceived information quality are significant predictors of user satisfaction
in the success of individual IS applications. In this study, 24 items that covered
flexibility, system integration, response time, recoverability, convenience, and common
language measured system quality. For measuring information quality, 24 items
were selected that addressed completeness, precision, accuracy, consistency, currency,
and format characteristics. Roldán and Leal (2003) adapted DeLone and McLean’s
(1992) IS success model and validated it in a Spanish executive information system
(EIS). In their research, they conducted a survey, and the respondents for the survey
were EIS users. The results of their study indicate that system quality and information
quality have a significant positive influence on EIS user satisfaction (Table II).
 6,3
TG

308

Table II.
Measures of
information quality
Author Description of the measures Area of the study

DeLone and McLean (2003) Completeness, ease of understanding, Success of e-commerce context
personalization, relevance, and security
Bailey and Pearson (1983) Accuracy, timeliness, precision, reliability, currency, Analyzing computer user satisfaction
completeness, format of output, volume of output,
and relevancy
Baroudi and Orlikowski (1988) Reliability of output, relevancy of output, accuracy of Measure of user information satisfaction
output, precision of output, completeness of output
Seddon and Kiew (1996) Output is presented in a useful format Success factors in the university’s recently
Satisfied with the accuracy of the system implemented departmental accounting system
Clear information
Accurate system
Sufficient information
Up-to-date information
Information needed in time
Provide reports that needed
Precise information
Information content addresses needs
McKinney et al. (2002) Relevance: applicable, related, pertinent Measurement of web customer satisfaction
Understandability: clear in meaning, easy to
understand, easy to read
Reliability: trustworthy, accurate, credible
Adequacy: sufficient, complete, necessary topics
Scope: wide range, wide variety of topics, different
subjects
Usefulness: informative, valuable
Cao et al. (2005) Information accuracy: useful information, accurate B2C e-commerce web site quality
information, site is informative, updated information,
high quality information, timely information
Information relevancy: relevant according to user
Availability of information according to user needs
and relevant information
(continued)
Author Description of the measures Area of the study

Li (1997) Accuracy of output, timeliness of output, precision of IS success factors

output, reliability of output, currency of output,
completeness of output, and format of output
Wangpipatwong et al. (2005) Accuracy, timeliness, relevancy, precision, and Factors influencing the adoption of e-government
completeness web sites
Roca et al. (2006) System provides relevant information Acceptance of e-learning
System does not provide easy-to-understand
information
Output information is not clear
Information presentation in an appropriate format
Information content is very good
Information is up-to-date
Completeness of output information
Information delivered is not sufficient for purposes
Reliability of output information is high
Provides information in time
Rai et al. (2002) Precise information according to user need Success factors in integrated SIS at university
Provides output that is exactly what the user needs
Sufficient information to enable users to do tasks
Errors in the program that users must work around
Satisfied with the accuracy
Output options (print types, page sizes allowed for,
etc.) sufficient for user applications
Information provided was helpful regarding user
questions or problems
Roldán and Leal (2003) Current and timely information Success factors in the Spanish EIS
Relevant, useful and significant information
Concise and summarized information
Accurate information
Orderly and clear information
Reasonable and logical information
Government
e-tax websites

309

Table II.
TG Methodology
6,3 The purpose of the research is to identify the system and information quality
characteristics within the context of a government e-tax web site. For this purpose
previous literature was reviewed to identify the system and information quality
characteristics. As such, this research is of an exploratory nature, and a quantitative
approach was chosen to test the aforementioned quality criteria empirically. A survey
310 was chosen as the preferred method, since it allows the collection of descriptive
cross-sectional data (Hair et al., 2007).

Measures development
From the previous literature seven items were selected to measure system quality that
covered functionality, navigation, accessibility the main characteristics of system
quality. Items were selected from the previous studies done by Liu and Arnett (2000),
McKinney et al. (2002), Smith (2001), Aladwania and Palvia (2002), Wangpipatwong et al.
(2005), Stockdale and Borovicka (2006) and Cao et al. (2005).
Seven items were selected from previous literature to measure information quality,
which were measures of the characteristics of information provided by government
web sites. Items were selected per the previous study done by Aladwania
and Palvia (2002), Liu and Arnett (2000), Bailey and Pearson (1983), Li (1997),
Smith (2001), Wangpipatwong et al. (2005), McKinney et al. (2002), Stockdale and
Borovicka (2006), Seddon and Kiew (1996), Rai et al. (2002), Cao et al. (2005) and
Roca et al. (2006).

Sampling justification and data collection

For this research, the target population is taxpayers, who by definition must
be employees. Thus, organizations were incorporated as a mode for simplifying the
process of contacting employees;, i.e. potential respondents as taxpayers. Here, we
made the choice of selecting municipalities all over Sweden to be the primary type of
organization being targeted. By its nature, a municipality represents the people, and
the employee profiles reflect its citizens, since people from different educational
and other backgrounds are all resident in the employee profiles, just as in the
surrounding society. A total of 290 municipalities are organized into 21 counties and
we have chosen every third number of municipalities from the list. As a secondary
source, employees from six universities from different parts of Sweden (by region) were
selected to send out the surveys. Two universities were selected from north and central
Sweden, two were selected near Stockholm, and two were selected from southern
Sweden.
Within each county, listings were made of the municipalities within. A systematic
random sampling was implemented with every third element within the list being
targeted as respondent organization. An online survey was administered to the
selected sample.
The online survey was hosted on a central server, and an e-mail was sent to possible
respondents explaining the nature of the survey. Since the e-mails were sent using lists
in a particular organization, it was possible to reach a large number of people in a short
amount of time. The survey was left open for two months and during this time, 425 valid
responses were received. The response rate was 3.63 percent of the 425 responses.
Addressing possible common method bias in the current research Government
In the current research work, common method bias can arise due to the use e-tax websites
of a single respondent to address all the variables in the model. As a result, using it for
measuring both predictive and criterion variables may result in a method effect
produced by the common source. Another possible source of common method bias in
this research is the “consistency motif,” or respondents’ answering while looking for
similarities and trying to maintain consistency. Other sources of common method bias, 311
such as the items of social desirability or characteristic effects, are deemed not applicable
in the context of this research.
According to Podsakoff et al. (2003), several ways have been suggested to counter
possible common method bias in behavioral research. We can achieve this by using
several procedural remedies:
.
Temporal, proximal, psychological, or methodological separation of measurement.
Another option is to introduce a temporal, proximal, or psychological separation
between the measurements. This is aimed at reducing any contextual cues that
may have been present in one instance. Also, temporal separation can help remove
answers from short-term memory. A locational separation is aimed at the
elimination of locational retrieval cues. Due to resource and time constraints within
the research, it is not possible to collect data from different periods. It is also difficult
to find the same respondent group to answer the question a second time.
Thus, reducing common method bias through temporal separation is not feasible.
However, since the survey is conducted online, it already has eliminated locational
cues from the respondents’ environments; therefore, a locational separation
is in effect here. Also, since the questionnaire is answered online rather than in a
predetermined room or laboratory setting, any contextual cues are also either
absent or present in any respondent situation, since it is only the computer
environment. Thus, contextual cues are also removed by using an online
questionnaire that reduces common method bias.
.
Protecting respondent anonymity and reducing evaluation apprehension. Finally,
protecting respondent anonymity and reducing evaluation apprehension are
cited as procedures that can be used to reduce common method bias; the survey
is designed accordingly. Statements are highlighted at the beginning of the
survey noting that responses are completely anonymous, and that the data given
cannot be identified with any respondent. Furthermore, providing demographic
data is optional, and the fact is highlighted within the questionnaire. These
steps reduce evaluation apprehension and thus reduce the common method bias.

Data analysis
In order to establish the internal consistency of the measurement instruments,
reliability analysis was conducted. It was established by calculating coefficient
alpha, also known as Cronbach’s a, to measure the internal consistency of the scale.
All of the items are found to be reliable, since the values are above the recommended
level of 0.7. Cronbach’s a of the scales system quality (0.874) and information quality
(0.863) showed a very good internal consistency of the scales (the Appendix).
Exploratory factor analysis was conducted to get an idea for the factor structure,
further examination of the factor structure and measurement purification and validation
confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted for each construct to refine the
TG scales and that gives an idea about different assumed variables truly measure the
6,3 factors identified in the research model. CFA was conducted on system and information
quality construct to check whether all the items load satisfactorily.
An exploratory factor analysis was conducted for system quality construct with
seven items and information quality construct with seven constructs. From the result
a one-factor solution was derived for both system and information quality constructs.
312 Significant factor loading (more than 0.50) was found for all items for both constructs.

CFA for system quality

Seven items were selected from the previous study and the results from exploratory
factor analysis were used to measure system quality. A CFA was conducted with these
seven items to see whether items load satisfactorily to measure this construct. At the end
of the analysis, four items were selected to measure system quality. Items were omitted
in several cases based on the variance explained, the path loadings, and standardized
residual value, and the factor structure was gradually refined based on the findings from
the model runs (Figure 1).
We have looked at the overall modification indices and checked whether error term
related with item identified from standardized residual covariance. Removing the items
will decrease the x 2 value and improve the model fit. We have looked at the overall
modification indices and checked whether taking more of the same errors can result in
an even greater decrease in the x 2 value. In such a case, we found a significant change
for the same error term and we calculated the total decrease that can occur if we were to
remove the particular item associated with the error term. Taking out two items will
decrease the x 2 value. So, based on standardized residual covariance and modification
indices, it was decided to take the items out and run the simulation to get a good fit.
Determining the overall fit. Looking at overall model fit, we found that the
goodness-of-fit index (GFI) value is 0.949, which is greater than acceptable level 0.90,
value adjusted goodness-of-fit index (AGFI) is 0.953, which is also greater than
acceptable value 0.80. Two reliable indicator Tucker-Lewis index (TLI) and
comparative fit index (CFI) values are, respectively, 0.979 and 0.993 and more than
acceptable level. These values should preferably be greater than 0.90. RMSEA value is
0.089, which indicates acceptable fit (Tables III and IV).

0.51
e5 sysq3
0.72

0.38
0.61
e3 sysq5 sysq
0.88
0.78
e2 sysq6 0.94

Figure 1.
CFA model for 0.88
system quality sysq7
e1
From the results, we found that all the standardized loadings are over 0.5 and the Government
critical ratio is more than 1.96. Looking at standardized residual covariance, all the e-tax websites
values are less than 2.58.

CFA for information quality

Seven items were selected from previous work and the results from exploratory factor 313
analysis were used to measure information quality. CFA stared with seven items and
at the end of the analysis four items load satisfactorily to measure this construct. Based
on standardized residual covariance and modification indices it was decided which
items are responsible for model misspecification and should thus be removed from the
model to get a better fit. The results are shown in Figure 2.
From the results we can see all the standardized loadings are over 0.50 and critical
ratio is more than 1.96, all the standardized residual values are less than 2.58 and
model fit is good. CMIN/DF (1.130) and RMSEA (0.018) values are acceptable.

Model RMSEA CMIN/DF GFI AGFI CFI TLI IFI

Default model 0.089 4.228 0.990 0.949 0.993 0.979 0.993

Saturated model 1.000 1.000 1.000
Independence model 0.610 152.504 0.455 0.091 0.000 0.000 0.000 Table III.
Fit index for
Note: p ¼ 0.015, x 2 ¼ 8.456 system quality

Structural Regression Critical Standardized regression Squared multiple

relation weight SE ratio weights correlation

Sysq7 ˆ sysq 1.000 0.938 0.879

Sysq6 ˆ sysq 0.959 0.039 24.772 0.884 0.782 Table IV.
Sysq5 ˆ sysq 0.559 0.040 14.067 0.614 0.377 Estimated values for
Sysq3 ˆ sysq 0.724 0.041 17.701 0.718 0.515 system quality items

0.66
e6 infq2
0.81
0.73
e4 infq4 0.85

0.57 infq
0.32
e3 infq5 0.76
Figure 2.
0.58 CFA model for
information quality
e2 infq6
TG The GFI value is 0.997 which is greater than the acceptable level, 0.90; value AGFI is
6,3 0.986, which is also greater than the acceptable value, 0.80. Two reliable indicators, the
TLI and CFI values, are, respectively, 0.999 and 0.100 and more than the acceptable
level (Tables V and VI).

Discussion on findings
314 System quality is defined for this study as a desired functionality and performance
characteristic of a government web site and seven items (see Table I for item sources
taken from previous literature) were selected to measure system quality in this study
and were selected based on previous studies. Items that were selected at the beginning
are: this web site provides necessary information and forms to be downloaded (sysq1);
this web site provides helpful instruction for performing my task (sysq2); this web site
provides fast information access (sysq3); this web site quickly loads all the text and
graphics (sysq4); it is easy to go back and forth between pages (sysq5); it only takes a few
clicks to locate information (sysq6); and it is easy to navigate within this site (sysq7).
At the end of instrument refinement process, four items (sysq3, sysq5, sysq6, sysq7)
were finally taken as measures of system quality in government e-tax filing services.
Thus, four items are found to determine citizen’s perceived system quality. Results
indicate that easy navigation facility is highly related to determining system quality.
Items that are related to navigation facility of the web site and accessibility are
important to determine citizens’ perceived system quality. That implies that when
citizens are filing their tax return and other tax-related activities they prefer that the web
site should have proper and easy navigation facilities and easy information access.
These are the main functionality and characteristics of the web sites identified in this
study. This finding corresponds to past assertions by McKinney et al. (2002),
Lu et al. (2002), Barnes and Vidgen (2006) and Chen (2010), that navigation facilities, fast
access and evaluating the links for needed information are important characteristics of
web site evaluation. This further confirms the findings by Freed (2009) that success of
web sites depends on their ability to serve the public to find information quickly and
easily searchable.

Structural Regression Critical Standardized regression Squared multiple

relation weight SE ratio weights correlation

Infq6 ˆ InfQ 1.031 0.065 15.836 0.765 0.585

Table V. Infq5 ˆ InfQ 0.574 0.051 11.254 0.566 0.321
Estimated values for Infq4 ˆ InfQ 1.045 0.061 17.216 0.852 0.726
information quality items Infq2 ˆ InfQ 1.000 0.811 0.658

Model RMSEA CMIN/DF GFI AGFI CFI TLI IFI

Default model 0.018 1.130 0.997 0.986 1.000 0.999 1.000

Saturated model 1.000 1.000 1.000
Table VI. Independence model 0.519 110.515 0.510 0.184 0.000 0.000 0.000
CFA fit indice for
2
information quality Note: p ¼ 0.323, x ¼ 2.259
Information quality is defined in this study as the characteristics of information Government
provided by a government web site. Based on previous literature, seven items were e-tax websites
selected to measure information quality (Table II). The items were identified at
the beginning and are: information on this web site is free from errors (infq1); this
web site provides information precisely according to my need (infq2); information on
this web site is up-to-date (infq3); this web site provides information I need at the right
time (infq4); information presented on this web site is related to the subject matter 315
(infq5); information on this web site is sufficient for the task at hand (infq6); information
on this web site is sufficient for the task at hand (infq7); and information contains
necessary topics to complete related task (infq8). After scales refinement, four (infq2,
infq4, infq5, infq6) were taken to measure information quality in the context of
government e-tax services. These four items covered information precision, information
timeliness and sufficiency or completeness of the information characteristics. Our
findings correspond to past research’s identification of information quality
characteristics (Bailey and Pearson,1983; Baroudi and Orlikowski, 1988; Seddon and
Kiew, 1996; Cao et al., 2005; Li, 1997). The results indicate that the provision of timely and
precise information according to citizens’ need is found to be important. This also stands
to reason since timely and precise information is requisite for timely completion and
filing of tax returns. So the next important information characteristic for determining
citizen’s perceived information quality is the sufficiency of information availability
on the web site that helps citizen to complete their tax-related task. According to
Wangpipatwong et al. (2005), information accuracy, timeliness, preciseness and
completeness of the information were identified as information quality characteristics
for government web sites; and accuracy, timeliness, and completeness of information
presented on the web sites are the important information quality criteria of online tax
web sites identified by Chen (2010).

Theoretical and practical implications of the study

This study identifies an important determinant of system quality and information
quality in the government tax web site. Based on extensive literature review from the
IS, e-commerce, and marketing research areas the system and information quality
characteristics were selected and they were tested in government e-service delivery
context particularly on a Swedish e-tax web site. The results indicate that IS,
e-commerce, and marketing theory are applicable in the G2C area; more specifically,
government e-tax service delivery. Csetenyi (2000) proposed application of ecommerce
and e-business technologies as a means to increase efficiency in the provision of
services to citizens and businesses.
Navigation facility and accessibility of the online tax web sites are important to
determine citizen’s perceived system quality, so the study identified the important
system quality criteria for online tax web site from the citizen’s view point. According
to Chen (2010), system quality depends on three factors: accessibility, interactivity and
ease of use. When citizens use the online system to filing their tax return they need to
interact with the authority, download necessary documents, and also need to navigate
different pages on the web sites. Good accessibility and interactivity positively affect
the online system quality of web sites. Navigation facilities was identified as
an important quality criterion of government web sites (Barnes and Vidgen, 2006).
TG From the results it was found that information precision, information timeliness and
6,3 sufficiency or completeness of the important information characteristics were used to
evaluate government e-tax web sites. The implication of the results indicates that
information presented should be more precise and should cater to the citizen’s needs,
they should also provide information at the right time and information should be
sufficient for the citizen to complete the tax-related activities. According to Chen (2010),
316 information quality is the important characteristic of online tax web sites. Chen (2010)
measures information quality of tax web sites, focusing on accuracy, timeliness, and
completeness of information presented in the web sites. To create new users, the tax
authority needs to simplify the interface design to make the system easier to use. They
should try to maintain easy design and functionality of the web site where citizens can
get fast access to the information, get anywhere on the web site very easily and find the
necessary information. They need to provide a well-organized web site that will help
citizens to complete their tax related task with a minimal effort.
Along with the theoretical contributions, there are some practical implications of the
research findings. It is important for the practitioner such as tax authorities and other
government organizations that are involved with the delivery of e-services, to be aware
of the factors that contribute towards the future maintenance of the quality of the
e-government services. The results can help the tax authority to identify the key
quality criteria for the e-tax service web site that are valued by citizens. As a result,
that authority can improve its service delivery process.
A citizen survey was conducted to determine their expectations regarding the quality
criteria of the information presented in the government web sites. According to Connolly
and Bannister (2008), among the different online services provided by governments, online
tax filing is one of the most developed and widely used. Tax authorities have also tended to
be the leaders in IT application implementation in the public sector. It is imperative that
citizens’ perceptions and expectations are carefully considered to increase the efficiency
and effectiveness of this service. Earlier studies have mentioned that the needs of citizens
and businesses have so far been neglected (Centeno et al., 2005). These findings have led
this research to stress the need to focus on the factors that work behind the scenes in the
satisfactory provisioning of this service to citizens. Earlier studies also mentioned that
huge investments had been made for e-government service development efforts but a
comparatively low level of user acceptance was found for such services. More empirical
research was recommended as being need from a user’s perspective on improving the
effectiveness and quality of e-government services (Hung et al., 2006).
Tax authorities can use the results to retain the current users and, along with that,
they can use them to create new users. Both of these are important in making the service
successful. The instrument that was developed for this study will provide a good insight
and can act as a reference point in defining reliable quality standards for the web site,
which can influence people in using the service more rather than the offline service
alternative for filing tax returns. Tax authorities can take an initiative to establish
evaluation methods based on such standards to identify if there is anything lacking
in the service delivery process, and take corrective measures as needed.

Conclusion and limitations of the study

This research explored an important area of e-government particularly in the online
tax system. It focused on the Swedish online tax system and evaluated Swedish tax
information-related web sites to find out the important system and information quality Government
criteria in place for such web sites. A citizen survey was conducted to identify the e-tax websites
important information and system quality criteria from a user’s perspective. Results
indicate that navigation facility and accessibility are important in determining citizens’
perceived system quality. Information preciseness, timeliness, and sufficiency were
found to be key measures in information quality in government e-services.
Every research has some limitations, and it is important to present the limitations of 317
the present research to place the findings in perspective. The first limitation of the
current study is that it was not possible to collect individual online taxpayers’
addresses from the tax authorities. Because of personal confidentiality concerns, the
tax authority was unwilling to provide the addresses of online taxpayers. Employees
from the municipalities and the employees from a number of universities within
Sweden who were experienced with the internet tax-filing system were selected as a
sample for the data collection. The external validity of the research results thus may be
limited to Sweden. Another limitation lies in the fact that the items used to measure
system, information and e-service qualities were selected from different studies. These
constructs were measured directly with items, and dimensions were not included in
this study. In the empirical analysis, trace of multidimensionality was not found within
the items treated in the model. However, there can be additional items used to measure
the variables, and it is proposed that further research may be conducted including
additional items to judge the dimensionality as well as possible extension of the model
even further. Within the present study, system and information quality criteria were
proposed in the context of e-tax services, and tested in Sweden. Further testing is
proposed to test the applicability of the quality criteria in different geographical
locations and within their respective e-tax or similar comparable services.
In the present study data were collected only from citizens who are experienced with
e-tax services. The tax authority itself was not included in the data collection process.
The problems or issues encountered by the authorities in implementing the system and
interacting with the citizens can provide valuable input in enhancing the quality of the
system. Thus, a secondary study is proposed that deals with evaluation of the quality
criteria from the service provider perspective, i.e. the tax authority.

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deedeklarationen.5.2e56d4ba1202f950120800012875.html
Appendix Government
e-tax websites
Items Cronbach’s a

System quality 0.874

This web site provides necessary information and 321
forms to be downloaded
This web site provides helpful instruction for
performing my task
This web site provides fast information access
This web site quickly loads all the text and
graphics
It is easy to go back and forth between pages
It only takes a few clicks to locate information
It is easy to navigate within this site
Information quality 0.863
Information on this web site is free from errors
This web site provides information precisely
according to my need
Information on this web site is up-to-date
This web site provides information I need at the
right time
Information presented in this web site is related to
the subject matter
Information on this web site is sufficient for the
task at hand
Information contains necessary topics to complete Table AI.
related task Item scale

Corresponding author
Dr Parmita Saha can be contacted at: Parmita.saha@hisf.no

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