Abstract
Public service innovation has become an important instrument for improving government performance, yet administrative efficiency alone does not necessarily generate citizen trust or satisfaction. This article examines how public service innovation influences these two outcomes in the institutional contexts of India and Bangladesh. It addresses three questions: how different forms of innovation shape citizens’ evaluations of public services; through what mechanisms innovation may strengthen or undermine trust and satisfaction; and under what institutional and social conditions its benefits are most likely to emerge. The study adopts an integrative literature review, synthesizing research on public sector innovation, digital government, service quality, institutional trust, and citizen participation. The review is informed by established theoretical perspectives and empirical studies relevant to South Asian public administration. The synthesis indicates that innovation is most likely to improve citizen satisfaction when it reduces administrative burdens, increases accessibility, improves responsiveness, and provides reliable services. Its relationship with institutional trust is more conditional, depending on perceived fairness, transparency, accountability, and the protection of personal information. Digital exclusion, inconsistent implementation, and technology-driven procedural complexity may weaken these benefits. The comparison between India and Bangladesh is used to identify contextual mechanisms rather than to claim statistically established national differences. The article contributes an integrated analytical framework linking service innovation to citizen satisfaction and institutional trust through service experience, procedural fairness, and perceived government responsiveness. It offers implications for public administrators seeking to move beyond efficiency-oriented reforms toward citizen-centred and institutionally credible service delivery.
