Research on the Use of the e-Citizens System Services by Young People - The Case of Zadar

Abstract

A review of the literature found that there is a research gap when it comes to the use of public e-services, especially by young people, so the contribution of this paper is in enriching scientific knowledge in this area. A special contribution is the research of the factors that influence the use of e-government services by generations Y and Z. Regarding the practical implications, we have concluded that the system itself needs to be further upgraded with more services tailored for the younger generations, and that an even larger number of institutions and organizations at all levels (from local to central, state level) should be integrated into the system. It is certainly extremely important to further educate all groups of citizens about the benefits and uses of e-services, especially in the public sector and the benefits that such use brings, both for system users – citizens and networked systems, but also for the functioning of the public sector in terms of improving its efficiency and process optimization, thus improving service performance and user experience in the public sector. The limitation of the research lies in the used Model of acceptance of public services of the e-Citizens system, which does not cover all dimensions of the issue of acceptance of public services of e-government (used constructs explain only 27.3% of the intended use) and appropriate sampling of students from the University of Zadar. When it comes to guidelines for further research, international comparisons should certainly be made – e.g., whether the level and use of e-public services among young people in different countries and different cultural and socio-economic contexts differs and what are the new models for digital literacy enhancement through the entire vertical of the education system, but also through other formal and informal forms of education. The question that also arises is to what extent the e-Citizens system, as well as similar systems of using e-services are well communicated to the whole society; whether everyone knows about such systems, whether they are familiar with its functioning, what are the advantages it brings and similar.