Assessment of the sustainability of public service quality: a case of Latvia

One of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is good governance and sustainable cities and communities. Sustainable development goals in public administration are relevant worldwide and can only be achieved through collective efforts by using scientific insights. The sustainability of the quality of public administrative services is one of the key objectives in improving the functioning of public administration in Latvia and worldwide. The present study aimed to assess the sustainability of the quality of administrative services provided by public administration institutions in Latvia, comparing its results with a similar study conducted in 2017–2018. The study was based on four public administration institutions and their branches in Latvia. It relied on a sample of public service customers from the largest cities in Latvia – Riga, Daugavpils, Jelgava, Ventspils, and Valmiera. A total of 130 randomly selected customers of public administration institutions participated in the study; they filled out SERVQUAL questionnaires before and after their visit to the institution. The survey questionnaires were collected in 2022-2023. The customer sampling can be characterised as random and administratively territorial, ensuring proportional representation across planning regions. The service quality assessment model – SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al., 1988) – and SPSS software (22.0) were used for data collection and analysis. Improving the sustainability of the quality of administrative services in Latvia can significantly contribute to enhancing the quality of life in society, achieving its strategic goals, and refining the operations of public administration institutions, thereby improving the economic environment.