Impact of website credibility factors on user engagement in Malaysian municipal websites

Abstract

Overwhelming information source in the online environment has made the role of a government website as the main government information provider to become less prominent. Besides that, issues such as usability problem, low popularity ranking and less user engagement on government’s website have contributed to its less user engagement. Thus, the aim of this research is to investigate the credibility factors for information-driven websites, such as municipal government websites, in influencing website user engagement. The proposed framework of website credibility factors in influencing user engagement derived as previous studies on assessment of the whole aspect of website credibility remain scarce. Besides that, studies that identify the relationship between website credibility factors and user engagement are also limited. This study firstly began with a preliminary assessment to reveal low utilization of Malaysian municipal government website. The assessment involved the capture of the current website ranking and website user engagement of ten municipal websites within the Klang Valley, Malaysia. The second preliminary study used website content analysis to confirm the existence of website elements and design features on the current websites that act as credibility cues. All verified content elements and design features were encapsulated as part of the scale items in appropriate variables of a survey instrument. The study employed quantitative approach by using survey questionnaire as the instrument which was adapted from previous research. The survey questionnaire was distributed among website users of ten municipal websites within the Klang Valley aged eighteen years and above, using both online and printed questionnaires. Descriptive data analysis and structural equation modelling technique were used to answer the research objectives. The results of this study proved that website credibility factors of surface credibility, content credibility, and reputed credibility have positive relationship on user engagement, except for source credibility that shows vice versa result. Within website credibility factor itself, surface credibility has also positive relationship on source credibility, content credibility and reputed credibility factors. The conceptual framework is found appropriate for information-driven websites and serves as a value-aided guideline for web content management practices. This study benefits the web content management practitioners and web developers in identifying which website content elements and design features that can act as credibility cues in information-driven website that will have influence over user engagement.