Resumen de Modeling customer experience with public sector smartphone apps: a mixed methods study in the UAE
Public sector institutions are increasingly using smartphones applications (apps) as a new delivery channel and/or as an innovative approach to provide smart services to citizens (Government-to-Citizen, or G2C), within the so-called e-governance paradigm. However, there is limited empirical investigation of the factors influencing user experience with public sector apps, a gap which the present study endeavors to address. Using a mixed-methods approach, data was first collected from in-depth interviews of 17 app users and analyzed using NVivo to develop a model of customer experience. Next, using data from a survey of 499 app users and Structural Equation Modelling, the study model was examined. Four antecedents of customer experience were identified: Technical; Utilitarian; Cognitive, and Emotional factors. Surprisingly, emotional factor was by far the strongest predictor of customer experience. Policy makers and app developers will find insights to be more citizen-oriented, leading to enhanced adoption and usage of G2C service apps.
