Trust in E-Government Transactional Services: A Study of Citizens' Perceptions in Mexico and the U.S.

While the importance of trust in the online vendor and electronic channel for e-commerce transactions is well established, less is known about factors that influence trust in e-government services. Moreover, perceptions of trust depend heavily on the cultural context and thus can vary across countries. This study investigates differences in trust and consumption of public services by citizens across two settings: Mexico and the United States. Focus groups' results were first used to develop a survey; then a total of 455 surveys from both countries collected perceptions on four e-government services. Multi-group path analysis assessed the associations and differences between trust and service utilization. Results indicate the U.S. shows higher trust and utilization compared to Mexico. The two countries differ particularly in the impact of perceptions of the government's benevolence and competence on e-government service utilization Perceptions about the government's handling of data affects utilization only in the U.S., and the e-medium impacts utilization in both cultures. Implications for research and practice are discussed.