The Association between Institutional Trust and the Use of State Digital Innovations: Evidence from a Survey in Saint Petersburg

Abstract

Institutional trust is an essential component of social capital and, together with generalized trust, is considered a foundation for effective socio-economic development. For over 30 years, researchers and practitioners have been studying the key determinants of trust and ways
to strengthen it. In recent years, public institutions—primarily government authorities—have been implementing digital innovations to counteract declining institutional trust. These innovations include e-government and e-participation. However, there remains a limited number of studies examining the relationship between the use of these innovations and institutional trust. To explore this relationship, we developed and implemented a survey in Saint Petersburg, where all types of digital government innovations are present. The results of a regression analysis demonstrated that effectively implemented digital innovations do contribute to an increase in institutional trust.