Government responsiveness and citizen satisfaction: Evidence from environmental governance

Abstract Prior research has overlooked the dynamics between government responsiveness and citizen satisfaction. This article addresses this gap by examining (1) how styles of government responses affect citizen satisfaction differently and (2) how external events moderate the effects of government responsiveness on citizens. Drawing upon 79,360 environmental demands sent to local leaders in China and 100,905 Chinese citizens' environmental assessments collected from 2013 to 18, this study finds that actional and explanatory responses positively influence citizen satisfaction, while referral responses negatively affect citizen satisfaction. Moreover, these relationships are subject to the moderating effects of exogenous pressures. Top‐down pressure from the central government's environmental inspections and bottom‐up pressure from the environmental documentary Under the Dome represent two types of exogeneities during the study period. The findings corroborate a dynamic government‐citizen relationship that is shaped by government responding actions and sociopolitical changes.