The role of information and communication technologies in public sector performance: exploring the interactions between government and citizen usage

Purpose This study examines the role of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in improving public sector performance worldwide, with a focus on government effectiveness, accountability and corruption control. Although ICTs have been extensively adopted to enhance outcomes in the public sector, existing literature primarily concentrates on private firms restricting the applicability of findings to the public sector, where performance is assessed based on service delivery and governance rather than profitability. Design/methodology/approach This research analyses the effects of ICT adoption, government ICT usage and individual ICT usage on public sector performance using secondary data from 131 countries. It uses accountability theory, the capability approach and a partial least squares–structural equation modelling approach. Findings The findings indicate that both the use of ICT by the government and the adoption of ICT significantly improve public sector performance. Furthermore, the adoption of ICT has a positive effect on both government and individual ICT use, with government ICT use acting as a mediator in the relationship between ICT adoption and public sector performance. These results highlight the importance of fostering a supportive ICT environment to enhance accountability, efficiency and transparency within public institutions. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is arguably the first to explore the relationship between ICTs and public sector performance, specifically through the lens of the accountability and capability approach. By applying these theories, the research empirically demonstrates how digital technologies foster substantive freedoms that empower citizens to engage in governance processes, encourage public servants to innovate in service delivery and enable institutions to transform technological resources into significant improvements in transparency and effectiveness. Additionally, the study’s use of archival data sources facilitates the reproducibility and generalisability of its findings to a broader population. Thus, this research contributes to the limited literature on ICTs and public sector performance.