Introduction

CHAPTER 6. CONCLUSION AND CONTRIBUTION

The present thesis draws on both qualitative and quantitative data collected during the research process. A grounded theory approach is applied in order to investigate explanations of website quality. Statistical analysis is used to investigate perceptions of quality and success in public sector websites. The webmasters perspectives are emphasised, as they are found to be key figures in website development and quality improvements. Website quality criteria launched by the central governments, which to a large extent serves as guidelines in public sector organisations, are also reviewed and discussed. These criteria aim to minimise a gap between the governments and the citizens for provision of online information and digital services in the Scandinavian countries.

Norway and Denmark are relatively homogeneous countries, concerning education, welfare and population. Although there are many similarities, we also find some differences regarding e.g. infrastructure and government structure.

When comparing these countries with other European countries, ambitions for digitalisation of the public sector are largely at the same level, and much effort are put on fulfilling national aims and strategies launched by the central governments.

Although this thesis points to many issues and concerns that most likely are also relevant outside Scandinavia, we cannot immediately generalise the empirical findings offered. Anyhow, this was not the intention when conducting the present research and the cases are, therefore, not chosen for this purpose.

The high level of online information and services provided to the citizens (which is significantly higher compared to many other countries) gives the Scandinavian countries a unique position in being role models. On a general European level – we can discuss the importance of facilitation for high quality interactions between citizens and public sector, issues concerning increased use of websites in communication and the impacts of national aims and strategies. In addition, we

also find some common strategies and goals for digitalisation of the public sector, which are not limited to Scandinavia. Most European countries have to deal with many of the same challenges in terms of policies, pressure and goals announced by the central governments. New insights provided may therefore also be of interest outside the Scandinavia countries.

In light of research concerning facilitation for website quality and success, this thesis contributes additional insights and offers the opportunity to understand how government organisations perceive and facilitate quality in public sector websites, with explanations and perceptions of constructs of success and the extent of user involvement and testing. This research can be seen as cross-disciplinary for the reason that it draws on different academic fields (IS, eGovernment and HCI). The present thesis emphasises public sector websites and the field of eGovernment has assumed special importance. Bearing in mind the research objectives addressed, the main empirical findings were summarized within the respective chapter (Chapter 5). The aim of the present chapter is, therefore, to synthesize the findings. The following concluding remarks can be made:

The thesis conclude that quality in public sector websites is predominantly related to technical aspects, usability issues, content and service quality. Website quality can therefore be viewed as a twofold concept, focussing on both technical issues and user-centric aspects, with reference to task performance, and perceptions of information quality, system quality and service quality. Website quality criteria obligated by the central governments primarily focus on technical issues and standardised measures, while organisations basically tend to safeguard their own interests and secure themselves on matters concerning user centred issues, which arise in regards to users’ behaviour and actual use in a real user setting. Adherence to these criteria for public sector websites is, therefore, important in order conform

to national policies of eGovernment. Although these are concluded as being highly technical in nature and not entirely consistent with the webmasters explanations, they play a significant role in the need of being aware of an inhomogeneous group of users (citizens) with various requirements and skills.

Moreover, this thesis conclude that the methods applied during the quality assessment process (organised by the central governments) to a large extent represent typical expert evaluations, and are not, applicable to actual use in real user settings (elicits reflection on these evaluations and the use methods applied).

Examination is also recommended to inspect the means by which the use of quality criteria and methods can advantageously serve as guidelines in forthcoming development and quality improvements of websites. Because public organisations have less freedom in website development and improvements compared to most private organisations, we conclude that involvement of users and testing is particularly important in a public sector setting. Although yearly website quality assessment put a pressure on public organisations, and in a positive way pay attention to the importance of quality in interactions, we need to take into account what the evaluations do not cover.

In this regard, the needs and expectations within various user groups are not necessarily covered in the quality criteria. Priority of the quality aspects should, therefore, ideally be weighed by the individual organisations, which know their users best. Although success or failure on the Web is to a large extent related to these criteria and the winners are announced as good-practice examples – the users’ interests must always be the primary concern. The present thesis concludes that the users’ interests should to a larger extent be captured by these evaluations, which can be explained by the low degree of user involvement concerning actual task performance and handling of information/services. The fact that the findings

in this thesis also revealed a negative correlation between website quality and user satisfaction in a public sector context, we should in turn, motivate and stimulate actions aimed at reconsidering the use of quality criteria. Hence, a broader perspective which considers the strengths and weaknesses of such evaluations is indispensable. We should not simply endeavour to strive for enhanced user experiences, user satisfaction and benefits achievements, by only focussing on these evaluations and criteria launched.

The evidence also proved that organisations that conducted testing tended to see a higher positive correlation among constructs of website success. Active attention and diligent deliberation should, therefore, be given to the importance of user involvement in creation of high quality interactions on the Web. Users should be granted favourable opportunities to contribute valuable insights that could aid the development and progress of the public sector, besides helping to guide forthcoming investments and assessments of quality and success. Such opportunities could also lead the way forward by reducing the gap between the users’ perceptions of success in websites and quality indicators obligated by the central governments. Consequently, user testing in website development and quality improvements displays potential for improvements, and increased attention should be directed toward the remarkable benefits of such actions. The present thesis also conclude by stating that users should be increasingly involved and play a more dominant role in the future. Organisations should expand their feedback channels in order to satisfy an expanding base of more demanding users and their comprehension of new technologies and services. The fact that the majority of public sector organisations do not conduct any type of user testing, reflection is necessary of these important intermediaries to enhance their feedback channels.

User empowerment in the design, implementation, and evaluation of information systems presents a window of opportunity originating in the on-going growth of Web interactivity and the use of technologies in public sector websites. Although many organisations still have a way to go on the path to website success, we do come across excellent examples of websites that aspire to succeed and facilitate interactivity through initiatives such as interactive online dialogue with the citizens (e.g. Web chat), forums, user generated content, Facebook, Twitter integration and mobile apps. These services are not investigated in the present thesis, but can be examined in-depth, in order to facilitate for increasingly demanding users and the acceptance of new technologies and innovations.

We conclude that website quality is a multidimensional construct, consisting of various aspects rather than a single and homogeneous explanation. However, issues covering usability in a broad sense is the main driver in order to force user satisfaction and success on the Web, in relation to efficiency and effectiveness measures that can provide benefits for both the citizens and public sector organisations. When emphasising the public sector, requirements in regards to accessibility are found to be of particular importance, and the awareness of user involvement needs to be more emphasised within public sector organisations. We can also expect that public websites goes through a continuous shift, due to increasingly more demanding website users, implementation of new services and technologies. More focus must be given to website development and maintenance, priority of resources concerning the website and the opportunity to build a great brand by providing high quality websites.

Along with the conclusion, some limitations need to be pointed out. Firstly, this thesis investigated websites in public sector by taking a broad, rather than a narrow approach. The present research does not separate between different types

of public websites (e.g. municipalities, directorates, educational institutions etc.) and the needs of various user groups (e.g. young people, elderly, highly educated etc.). Moreover, the website user interface is given great attention and not the technology behind. The primary focus is what the users actually have to deal with when they search for information and/or perform various tasks. Secondly, the present thesis does not aim to investigate similarities and differences between website quality in Norway and Denmark, but rather use the two countries as one sample. Thirdly, methodological issues could also be raised, in regards to explanation and perception of website quality and success. One cannot guarantee that the webmasters view of a website is representative for the entire organisations (and the website users), although they are assumed to have the best knowledge regarding user satisfaction. These limitations are addressed in suggestions for further research (Section 6.3).

To provide the contribution of the present thesis, Section 6.2 presents the theoretical contribution, Section 6.3 concerns further research opportunities and Section 6.4 deals with implications for practice.