정부－공중 관계성 향상을 위한 PR도구로서 전자정부의 가능성 탐색 연구 = E-government as a Public Relations Tool for Improving the Quality of Government-Public Relationships

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

E-government refers to a means of providing citizens with government- related information and services as well as opportunities to interact with the government in its administrative processes through the Internet and other information technologies. Because the ultimate goal of government public relations is to build a favorable government-public relationship by effectively delivering public information and services and promoting citizen participation, the systems for e-government can presumably be understood as a significant public relations tool for government. Thus, this study aimed to examine the relationship between the utilization of e-government and the quality of a government-public relationship, indicated by public trust in government. Using the international datasets of United Nations E-Government Development Index and Edelman Trust Barometer from 24 countries, a cluster analysis was performed. Based on the characteristics of the three identified clusters of countries, this study showed that (1) countries with low use of e-government were likely to be associated with low public trust in government; (2) considerable use of e-government was necessary for high public trust in government although it did not always guarantee high public trust. This study demonstrated the potential role of e-government as an advanced government public relations tool in the digital age. Some practical and theoretical issues were discussed in this regard.