E-Governance Service Quality and Perceived Business Ease Among SMEs in Kathmandu: A Sequential Explanatory Mixed-methods Study

Abstract

This study examines the association between e-governance service quality and perceived business ease among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Kathmandu, Nepal. Using a sequential explanatory mixed-methods design, the study first analysed survey data from 350 SME owners and managers and then conducted 30 semi-structured interviews to explain the quantitative findings. The quantitative results showed that system quality, information quality, administrative support quality and trust in digital government services were all positively associated with perceived business ease. Administrative support quality showed the strongest standardised association, suggesting that SMEs evaluate e-governance not only through platform access but also through the availability of procedural guidance, problem resolution and confirmation support. The qualitative findings reinforced this interpretation by showing that online services reduced routine burden but often remained incomplete when information was unclear, support was weak or digital records required manual verification. The study extends e-governance service-quality research by showing that SMEs assess digital government services through procedural completion rather than access alone. The study concludes that SME-facing e-governance should be assessed through a procedural completion logic rather than an access logic.