Increasing citizen satisfaction with municipal services: the function of intangible factors
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Increasing citizen satisfaction with municipal services: the function of intangible factors Hanna Gendel-Guterman 1 & Miriam Billig 2 Received: 26 August 2019 / Accepted: 27 October 2020/ # Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract This study explores the intangible factors that influence citizens’ satisfaction from municipality services. Three factors are considered: place attachment, quality of life, and relationship between the municipality and citizens. The study is based on a qualitative and a quantitative analysis. A conceptual framework is formulated using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The originality of this study lies in two findings: First, objective tangible factors are not sufficient to develop citizens’ satisfaction from the municipality services. There is a necessity to cultivate a mutual relationship between the municipality and its citizens. Second, the quality of life can influence satisfaction from the services and not vice versa, as assumed in previous research. Keywords Citizen satisfaction . Municipality relationship . Quality of life . Place
attachment . Emotional role
1 Introduction The perceived satisfaction of recipients of public municipal services is important for various stakeholders such as citizens, municipality leaders, and political players. Thus, there is an extensive body of research on factors that affect citizen satisfaction with public services provided by entities, conducted by government, municipalities, public organizations, other service providers, and academic research. Most of these studies discuss tangible and instrumentally explanatory factors, measuring services according
* Hanna Gendel-Guterman [email protected] Miriam Billig [email protected]
1
Economy and Business Department, Ariel University, 40700 Ariel, Israel
2
Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Ariel University; Eastern R&D Regional Center, 40700 Ariel, Israel
H. Gendel-Guterman, M. Billig
to volume and quality. For example, educational services, infrastructure, and public areas (Belanche et al. 2016; McCrea et al. 2005; Nigro and Císaro 2014; Van Ryzin 2004). Yet, it is found that although public services are generally intended to be consistent and uniform for all those who use these services, they are evaluated differently by different people using the same service. It is assumed that these dissimilarities are the results of subjective and intangible factors. Some researchers, including Nigro and Císaro (2016), partially dealt with intangible influencing factors on satisfaction such as emotions, perceived place quality of life, loyalty, and expectations. However, there is still an urgent need for more extensive research focusing on the role of other intangible factors that can affect citizen satisfaction with public services. The role of attachment to the living place as influencing emotion is undebated. But there are two more major elements that must be considered regarding services satisfaction, one being the perceived satisfaction from the mutual relations
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