Citizen Attitudes about Open Government and Government 2.0: A Path Analysis

The analysis on the secondary data from the Pew Internet and American Life Project's national survey (Government Online) found what influences American citizens' attitude about Open Government and Government 2.0, which can be identified as a new goal and tool, respectively, of e-government. This study employs a path analysis based on standardized structural equation estimation, which decomposes the causal relationships among multiple variables into standardized direct and indirect effects. The analysis suggests some noteworthy findings. Heavy users of e-government services and those with trust in government are likely to have positive attitudes toward the new phase of e-government, Open Government and Government 2.0. Socio-demographic conditions have indirect effects on citizen attitudes through the mediating effect of e-government use.