Affiliations: [a] Utrecht School of Governance (Utrecht University),
Bijlhouwerstraat 6, 3511 ZC Utrecht, The Netherlands
Correspondence:
[*]
Corresponding author: Stephan Grimmelikhuijsen MSc, Utrecht
School of Governance (Utrecht University), Bijlhouwerstraat 6, 3511 ZC Utrecht,
The Netherlands. Tel.: +30 2531433; Fax: +30 2537200; E-mail:
[email protected]
Abstract: Trust in government has been shown to be volatile in recent years
and Internet transparency is seen as a solution to strengthen trust. However,
critics argue that transparency will only lead to less trust, and sceptics say
that it has no effect at all. This debate on transparency is lacking empirical
information, and therefore central to this article is to what extent
transparency influences trust. Three dimensions of trust are distinguished: the
competence, benevolence and honesty of the government agency in question. To
examine whether Internet transparency affects these dimensions, an experimental
design was used which compared results from three groups of volunteers. The
groups were given varying amounts of prior information regarding the government
agency, ranging from much to none. Results showed that the relationship between
Internet transparency and these dimensions of trust is not unequivocal.
Perceptions of benevolence and honesty are affected by the level of
transparency, while perceptions of competence remain stable. Hence, a
heterogeneous effect of transparency on trust is demonstrated. This calls for a
more refined view in the debate on this relationship; this study offers a
beginning point for more detailed insight in the various effects of
transparency on trust.
Keywords: Trust, electronic government, government websites, Internet, policy information
