Causes and Consequences of States’ Responsiveness to the UN E-Government Survey: Exploring the Role of the Member States Questionnaire

Despite some criticism regarding its methodology, the UN E-Government Survey remains a key source of information about global e-government and e-participation performance. The more scholars and practitioners rely on its data, the more its role shifts from a mere barometer of e-governance to an independent factor of its diffusion and development. The literature suggests that the Survey may shape policy priorities and provoke the international status concerns of the countries, which may prioritize their position in the ranking over actual changes in governance. In this context, the ways the countries interact with the Survey become a relevant research object. This ongoing study attempts to address this issue by looking at the response rate of the states to the Member States Questionnaire (MSQ), provided by the UN experts. Using the data from 2018 to 2022, we aim at revealing possible causes and consequences of the countries’ responsiveness to MSQ. Since MSQ could mitigate information problems and affect the international reputation of the states, we argue that previous e-governance performance, degree of globalization, and quality of governance impact responsiveness, while the latter is positively associated with the scores the countries get. Our statistical analysis shows that, when controlled for other determinants, MSQ responsiveness remains a significant predictor of e-government and e-participation performance as measured by the UN. In turn, more successful and globalized countries are more likely to be responsive. The findings point to possible perpetuating divides between the countries, reflected in the final scores they get, and call for a deeper study of countries’ policy reactions to the Survey.