Linking smart governance to future generations: A study on the use of local e-government service among undergraduate students in a Chinese municipality

Abstract

Due to the advanced technologies, governments today are facing more challenges in the governance field than ever before. One of the serious issues is how to develop relationships with younger generations. As a purpose of smart governance, sustainability emphasizes the responsibility of government for building a stable association with future generations. This study is devoted to promoting sustainability in the smart governance field through e-government services. It seeks to understand the situation of local e-government use in a special group of future generations: Undergraduate students. In order to achieve this objective, this research conducts a case study in Chongqing, the only inland municipality in China. Drawing upon data from a sample of 1046 respondents in 2019, the findings reveal that the way to interact with the government via e-government is by receiving a wide range of undergraduate students at the local level. In this sense, the role of e-government in linking government and younger generations is larger and more significant than previously estimated. Additionally, the results witness a rise of social media in e-government services among younger generations. Based on all these findings, it offers practical suggestions for the future development of e-government services in China.