Citizens’ satisfaction with public service: A question of quality and expectations?

Abstract

Satisfaction surveys are increasingly used to inform citizens and decision makers about the quality of public services. This use of satisfaction surveys demands a close relationship between citizens’ satisfaction and the actual quality of the service. Research is mixed on this point, which may have large implications for the use of citizen satisfaction surveys. In this study, I investigate two aspects of the relationship between quality and satisfaction: Does an objective measure of service quality and the citizens’ expectations to the public service affect the citizens’ satisfaction levels? This question is investigated using satisfaction data from schools in the City of Aarhus from 2011 and 2013 as well as data from the national tests. The results show that both the objective measure of quality and citizens’ expectations affect satisfaction with Danish schools.