Process innovation: reengineering work through information technology
Process innovation: reengineering work through information technology
Digital Divide?: Civic Engagement, Information Poverty, and the Internet Worldwide
Digital Divide?: Civic Engagement, Information Poverty, and the Internet Worldwide
Web of Politics: The Internet's Impact on the American Political System
Web of Politics: The Internet's Impact on the American Political System
Developing and Validating Trust Measures for e-Commerce: An Integrative Typology
Information Systems Research
Is anybody out there?: antecedents of trust in global virtual teams
Journal of Management Information Systems - Special section: Managing virtual workplaces and teleworking with information technology
Does transparency strengthen legitimacy?
Information Polity
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Computer-mediated transparency is widely acknowledged to be a powerful instrument to strengthen citizen trust in government. However, government websites are often used as a convenient way to spread 'spinned' policy messages with highly positive interpretations of government policies. This paper focuses on this particular element of transparency: the extent to which a policy message contains balanced information. A truly balanced message should also mention dissenting viewpoints of government policies. This study examines the effect on trust of a balanced message compared to messages subject to varying degrees of spin. An experiment was designed to compare the effect of a very positive policy message, a slightly positive message and a message containing both positive and negative information. The results demonstrate that a balanced message on a website about government policy leads to negative evaluations of government competence to solve policy problems. Further, less spin does not positively affect the perceived honesty and benevolence of a government organization. This study suggests that showing balanced content might not be helpful when it comes to increasing trust in government, and that people might even prefer a light form of spin on government information as it provides the image that government knows what it is doing and where it is heading.