Abstract

This study evaluates the role of key communication factors - customization, interactivity, trendiness, entertainment, informativeness, and timeliness - in enhancing citizens’ awareness of e-government online public services. The research is situated in the urgent context of improving the effectiveness of policy communication during a period in which the Vietnamese Government is accelerating digital transformation and the provision of online public services. To achieve this purpose, this study conducted an online survey with 226 citizens who have used or are currently using online public services in Ho Chi Minh City, one of the leading cities in implementing e-government initiatives. A quantitative research method was employed with the support of SPSS software. The collected data were analyzed through reliability testing, exploratory factor analysis (EFA), and multiple regression analysis to assess the measurement scales and to examine the relationships proposed in the research model. The findings reveal that three communication factors such as timeliness, entertainment, and informativeness exert a statistically significant and positive impact on citizens’ awareness of online public services. By contrast, the effects of customization, interactivity, and trendiness were found to be statistically insignificant in this study’s context. The study contributes to the literature by clarifying the differentiated role of each communication factor in enhancing the effectiveness of e-government implementation. It highlights the importance of timely, accurate, and easily accessible information, while also suggesting that entertainment elements can be strategically integrated into communication to capture citizens’ attention to online public services of e-government and encourage citizens to learn more about these online services. This contributes to improving the effectiveness of e-government communication policies in enhancing people’s understanding of online public services currently being deployed in Vietnam.