Affiliations: [a] Researcher at Novay, Enschede, The Netherlands | [b] University of Twente, Twente, The Netherlands | School of Management, University of St Andrews, Scotland
Correspondence:
[*]
Corresponding author: Researcher at Novay. P.O. box 589, 7500
AN, Enschede, The Netherlands. Tel.: +31 53 4850483; Fax: +31 53 4850400;
E-mail: marije.teerling@novay.nl
Abstract: Citizens interact with government agencies through a variety of
channels, e.g., front desk, telephone, website and e-mail. Regardless of these
possibilities, they prefer the traditional channels like the front desk.
Government agencies strive for a balance between service delivery resulting in
customer satisfaction and cost efficiency in their operations. Through better
use of the online services by citizens, they can achieve a balance between
these aspects. So, government agencies should strive to change citizens'
enduring preference for the traditional channels. These preferences can be
altered through the use of multichannel marketing (MCM) instruments. In order
to use these instruments successfully, not only knowledge on citizen
multichannel behavior is required but also on the effects of these instruments.
Questions such as how do citizens perceive the various instruments and to what
extent are the instruments associated with each other rise up. Based on
qualitative depth interviews we formulate constructs to measure citizens'
perceptions on the MCM instruments. Subsequently, we empirically test the
constructs with a quantitative survey amongst almost 2,000 citizens. As a
result, this research increases the knowledge on government MCM and the
possibilities to influence enduring citizen channel preferences.
