Service Quality & its Impact on Citizen Service Satisfaction: With Reference to Governance in Karnataka, India

Good Governance is essential for socio-economic sustainability. Delivery of government/citizen services to citizens is the main functionality of any government. For measuring the success of government and their governance well-structured theory is necessary which could assist governments to improve the quality of their services and identify the factors which could enhance the citizen service satisfaction. This research provides understanding about citizen perception of service quality with regard to Government of Karnataka’s service delivery system under ‘Right to Service Act’. The right to service act ensures in-time delivery of notified government/citizen services to citizens. The right to service is act in Karnataka is named as ‘The Karnataka Sakala Services Act, 2011 and (Amendment) Act, 2014’ popularly known as ‘Sakala’. The word Sakala is derived from state’s official language ‘Kannada’ which means in ‘in-time’ or ‘good time’. It has been over a decade since implementation of this act in the state and as on August 2022 the government of Karnataka has been delivering 1124 services through 99 government institutions under this act at intime disposition rate of 95.06%, highest ever in the country when compared with 24 other states and 5 union territories of India which have already adapted the Right to Service Act. However, the cumulative statistical evidence shows that the service rejection rate in Karnataka has been 6.41% and delayed disposition rate has been 4.94%. Therefore, it becomes necessary to gauge the quality of service delivered by Government of Karnataka under Right to service act. A survey was conducted and 1027 valid responses were received. The study found that factors Tangibility, Reliability, Responsiveness, Assurance and Empathy are the primary determinants of functional quality whereas the factors Valence & Waiting Time are the primary determinants of technical quality. Thus, functional quality and technical quality contributing as dimension of service quality. This research is of high value to scholars who are interested in the area of government service delivery system in India and other developing countries where government delivers its services to citizens through citizen charter, stipulated time line or through right to service act.