Do different presentations of performance information on government websites affect citizens’ decision making? A survey experiment

Citizen-government interactions through performance information have recently gained attention in public administration. To enhance these interactions, governments utilize interactive information presentations to deliver information, in the hope of allowing citizens to make informed decisions. However, there is little empirical evidence on whether the implementation of interactive presentational formats helps citizens to make more accurate decisions. Drawing on information processing and cognitive fit theories, we argue that citizens make more accurate decisions using an interactive information presentation, which reduces the complexity of the task and boosts their cognition. Using a survey experiment, we test the effect of interactive presentation of information on the accuracy of citizens' decisions. Our findings show that an interactive information presentation, as compared to a static one, increases the accuracy of their decisions. The results suggest that it is essential for governments not only to publish performance information, but also to consider the way in which information is presented, so they can make it more useful to citizens.