Citizens’ assessment of the local administration: The hierarchical multidimensional scale as an instrument for measuring the quality of local services

Abstract

In recent years, an academic debate has been launched on the usefulness and role that citizens’ assessments should play in measuring public administration performance. Following a review of the literature, we focus on the strategic nature of citizens’ views. This article explores the feasibility of a new scale, known as the hierarchical multidimensional scale, for assessing the quality of local government as perceived by the citizens themselves. The hierarchical multidimensional scale proves to be a much better alternative than the SERVQUAL scale due to the factual incompatibility in applying the latter scale. Using data from a survey conducted in several municipalities in eastern Spain, we empirically validate the new scale, and test its predictive ability on the positive intentions of citizens towards the local administration.