E-Governance and the Pillars of Good Governance: Empirical Evidence from District-Level Public Administration in Punjab, Pakistan

Abstract

Good governance is a prerequisite for sustainable public sector performance and that digital government is one of the main instruments used by states to attain it. While many studies have focused on diffusion of e-governance technologies, there is less empirical research that has tested the translation of the key principles of good governance (transparency, accountability and administrative efficiency) to the successful implementation of e-governance at the sub-national or district level, especially in South Asian environments. This study aims to fill this gap by studying the district level administration in Khanewal, Punjab, Pakistan. A structured Likert questionnaire consisting of five points was designed to be given to the residents of Khanewal and 356 valid responses were received (93.2% response rate). Internal consistency for all constructs was higher than the recommended level (Cronbach's α = 0.885–0.886). The descriptive statistics showed that generally perceptions of e-governance were favourable (M = 4.186, SD = 0.649). Multiple regression analysis (Enter method) showed that accountability (β = 0.135, p = 0.005), transparency (β = 0.262, p < 0.001), and efficiency (β = 0.324, p < 0.001) each exerted a significant, positive influence on e-governance implementation, jointly explaining 30.0% of its variance (R² = 0.300, F(3,352) = 50.274, p < 0.001). The most salient was efficiency, followed by transparency and accountability. The results, along with the recent international and Pakistani evidence, indicate that efficiency gains in service delivery and transparency mechanisms based on open data should be given additional focus in district administration, while accountability would continue to be strengthened.