Title: Motives to use online news and the impact on satisfaction with the government and vote choice

Authors: Mumtaz Aini Alivi; Akmar Hayati Ahmad Ghazali; Ezhar Tamam; Mohd Nizam Osman

Addresses: Department of Media and Communication Studies, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Universiti Malaya, Jalan Universiti, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia ' Faculty of Modern Languages and Communication, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia ' Faculty of Modern Languages and Communication, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia ' Faculty of Modern Languages and Communication, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia

Abstract: Online news plays an important role in determining vote choice. The aim of this study is to examine motives to use online news sites and their impact on satisfaction with the government and vote choice. A sample of 700 registered voters in Klang Valley, Malaysia, participated in this quantitative study. A partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) analysis revealed that 'social utility' and 'personal fulfilment' play a significant role in determining satisfaction with the government. The motive of 'guidance' shows a negative effect on satisfaction with the government, which supports the hypothesis that the more people surf online news for guidance, the more they will be dissatisfied with the government. However, surprisingly, 'information-seeking' was not found to be significantly correlated with satisfaction with the government. Finally, satisfaction with the government, as a variable, was found to have a positive impact on vote choice.

Keywords: online news; new media; gratification motives; satisfaction with government; vote choice.

DOI: 10.1504/EG.2021.112931

Electronic Government, an International Journal, 2021 Vol.17 No.1, pp.55 - 74

Accepted: 03 Dec 2019
Published online: 10 Feb 2021 *

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