M.A. Wimmer et al. (Eds.): EGOV 2009, LNCS 5693, pp. 139–150, 2009. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2009 Refinement, Validation and Benchmarking of a Model for E-Government Service Quality Babis Magoutas and Gregoris Mentzas Technical University of Athens, 9 Iroon Polytechniou str., 15780 Zografou, Greece {elbabmag,gmentzas}@mail.ntua.gr Abstract. This paper presents the refinement and validation of a model for Quality of e-Government Services (QeGS). We built upon our previous work where a conceptualized model was identified and put focus on the confirmatory phase of the model development process, in order to come up with a valid and reliable QeGS model. The validated model, which was benchmarked with very positive results with similar models found in the literature, can be used for measuring the QeGS in a reliable and valid manner. This will form the basis for a continuous quality improvement process, unleashing the full potential of e- government services for both citizens and public administrations. Keywords: quality model, validation, refinement, eGovernment, benchmarking. 1 Introduction Europe continues to make sound progress on the supply of online public services [5]. During the recent years the focus of e-government research and development has evolved from “bringing public services online” to a concept of effective and user centric service delivery. Citizens expect a significant increase of service quality through the internet channel, compared to traditional channels [21]. So, the quality of public e-services and portals is in the center of the user centric e-service delivery concept. The public administrations should put emphasis on the improvement of ser- vice and portal quality in order to satisfy citizens and thus leverage the move of the demand size of public services from traditional to online channels. With this way the full potential of e-government will be unleashed, as on the one hand citizens will be provided with highly effective and user-friendly services, while on the other hand the public administrations will be able to take advantage of the enormous cost reduc- tion and re-organization possibilities that are created. Monitoring of e-government service and portal quality forms the basis for improv- ing the quality of public e-services. Measurement of intangible concepts, like quality, attitudes, behaviors, emotions, is commonly done by using instruments like surveys, interviews, assessments etc., as these concepts cannot be measured directly. Models are instruments that attempt to quantify constructs which are not directly measurable. Thus a quality model attempts to quantify the quality construct; in other words it is responsible for providing an answer to the question about what to measure, as far as the quality is concerned. Quality of public services is a complex aspect, as it depends