Improving Mobile Government Services in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC): The Integration of the Methods of Quality Function Deployment (QFD) and the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP)

Abstract

Mobile government (m-government) is an advanced delivery channel for governments to provide citizens with real-time information and services through mobile devices. Although the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) are among those to have already successfully implemented m-government services, citizens are not yet fully satisfied with the services currently provided and the use of these mobile services (m-services) can still be significantly increased. Thus, improving the quality of m-government services is the key to meeting citizens’ needs and expectations and establishing new relationship channels between governments and their citizens. The aim of this research is, therefore, in the context of the GCC, to improve m-government service quality. The dissertation used a quantitative approach, which is appropriate since it produces reliable data. An integration of the methods of quality function deployment (QFD) and the analytic hierarch process (AHP) has been used. QFD, including a matrix called house of quality (HOQ) is one of the best quality methods for translating the voice of the customer. AHP is a structured method used for complex issues where decision-making is required. Data were collected from MOI app users in the GCC using questionnaires to ascertain users’ requirements. The users’ requirements were then prioritized and the results revealed that the factor “safety during the whole service delivery time” had the highest priority (i.e. users are concerned about the security aspects of the app), while the factor “multiple language interfaces” had the lowest priority (i.e. users consider this unimportant as they are satisfied with the currently available languages). The technical requirements where identified and prioritized, and the findings revealed that the criterion “real-time” had the highest priority and the criterion “tangible services” had the lowest priority. This dissertation provides theoretical and practical contributions that further an understanding of how m-government service quality can be improved based on users’ requirements. From a theoretical perspective, this research is first attempt to define m-government service-quality dimensions in cooperation with m-government service users. From a practical perspective, m-government decision makers in the GCC can make use of the findings to formulate successful m-government strategies based on meeting citizens’ requirements according both to their priority and their dependency on other technical requirements. Future research could apply this method both in the government-to-government (G2G) and government-to-business (G2B) contexts to improve the m-government service quality.