Is citizen satisfaction affected by the equivalent framing effect? A study based on situations involving poor government performance
| Published date | 01 March 2024 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/00208523231173128 |
| Author | Xuede Gao,Qian Wang,Xiyun Shen |
| Date | 01 March 2024 |
Is citizen satisfaction
affected by the equivalent
framing effect? A study
based on situations
involving poor government
performance
Xuede Gao
School of Management, Lanzhou University, China
Qian Wang
School of Management, Lanzhou University, China
Xiyun Shen
School of Management, Lanzhou University, China
Abstract
Although numerous studies have confirmed the existence and possible limitations of the
equivalent framing effect in performance information evaluation, few studies have exam-
ined the conditions under which this framing effect works or does not work. This paper
explores the equivalent framing effect of citizen satisfaction in the case of poor govern-
ment performance by using two investigation experiments, and examines the boundary
conditions of this effect in terms of performance information sources and trust in gov-
ernment. The results show that citizen satisfaction is higher when performance informa-
tion is framed positively, rather than negatively. The findings demonstrate that the
equivalent framing effect of citizen satisfaction is moderated by performance information
sources and trust in government. This result indicates that equivalent framing effect has a
Corresponding author:
Xuede Gao, School of Management, Lanzhou University, No.222 Tianshui South Road, Chengguan District,
Lanzhou, Gansu, Lanzhou 730000, China.
Email: gaoxd@lzu.edu.cn
Article
International
Review of
Administrative
Sciences
International Review of Administrative
Sciences
2024, Vol. 90(1) 220–236
© The Author(s) 2023
Article reuse guidelines:
sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/00208523231173128
journals.sagepub.com/home/ras
certain fragility, showing heterogeneity with different sources of performance informa-
tion and different levels of public trust in the government.
Points for practitioners
Truthfully reporting poor performance is the basic requirement for local governments.
This study reminds government staff that, on the one hand, low performance is not a
scourge, and small changes in poor performance reports may significantly change citizen
satisfaction. On the other hand, it is not a panaceato improve citizen satisfaction simply
by changing the presentation of performance information. The government should make
more efforts to improve the public’s confidence in performance information and the
government.
Keywords
Behavioural public administration, citizen satisfaction, equivalent framing effect,
performance information sources, poor performance, trust in government
Introduction
Performance evaluation is not only a core component of public organisation management
but also a long-term concern of policy practice and academic research. The reporting and
disclosure of government performance information constitute essential means for
strengthening political accountability and deepening the level of democracy (Ospina
et al., 2004). Performance evaluation also forms the basis for the satisfaction of citizens
and managers with the organisation and any subsequent decision-making (Calmar and
Morten, 2015). Performance information provides a benchmark for performance evalu-
ation by citizens and helps people decide the extent of the evaluation and judgement
of public sector services (Dowding and John, 2012).
Citizen satisfaction is a mental state that arises after encountering a public service and
contrasting that with previous experiences (Oliver, 1980).It is the extension of the
concept of customer satisfaction in the field ofpublic management(Shah and Maniam,
2009). Under the background of the new public management movement, citizen satisfac-
tion is used as a standard of government service performance (Bouckaert et al., 2005;
James, 2009).Among the existing theoreticalexplanations of the relationshipbetween gov-
ernment performance information and citizen satisfaction, the cognitive–psychological
model provides a more comprehensive explanation for citizens’use of performance infor-
mation (Calmar and Morten, 2015). According to the model, in certain situations, the
evaluation of citizen satisfaction is not necessarily related to the actual objective perform-
ance of public services. This deviation may occur for various reasons, such as the
methods used to gather performance information. For example, citizens’dissatisfaction
with the government may sometimes be attributed to political differences and not neces-
sarily low service quality or poor performance (Jilke and Baekgaard, 2020). In the cog-
nitive psychological model, it is believed that citizens’unconscious biases in public
Gao et al.221
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