E-government service quality and customer satisfaction in the Addis Ababa City Trade Bureau: the mediating role of trust

Abstract Customer satisfaction refers to the degree to which users perceive that e-government services meet or exceed their expectations. The primary objective of this study was to examine the association of e-government service quality with customer satisfaction in the Addis Ababa City Trade Bureau. A cross-sectional design and an explanatory sequential mixed-method approach were used. Quantitative data were collected from 342 respondents via a structured questionnaire and analyzed through structural equation modeling, followed by qualitative interviews to support and explain the statistical findings, with data collection continuing until saturation was reached for 26 participants. The study shows that the joint association of predictors and mediators explains 49% of the variance in customer satisfaction (R 2 = 0.49 ) , demonstrating moderate explanatory power in relation to e-government research. Overall, e-government service quality has a statistically substantial positive association with customer satisfaction. However, security and privacy, fulfillment, and language did not directly or significantly influence customer satisfaction at the dimensional level. In contrast, efficiency and ease of use have a direct effect, whereas some dimensions, such as security and privacy, efficiency, and fulfillment, have an indirect influence on customer satisfaction through trust, indicating the presence of mediation. Furthermore, language does not have a significant association with customer satisfaction either directly or indirectly through trust. These findings suggest that not all service quality dimensions contribute equally to satisfaction and that trust plays a selective mediating role. Therefore, administrators and policymakers should work on inclusion and equity, particularly language accessibility, to strengthen user trust and enhance overall satisfaction with digital services.