Open Government Data to improve Public Service Quality: an empirical validation through a Structural Equation Model

Abstract

Objective: The thesis focuses on the concept of Open Government Data (OGD) as a new approach to the management of public administrations (Pereira et al., 2017; Wang and Lo, 2016; Zuiderwijk and Janssen, 2014; Attard et al., 2015; Chan, 2013), based on the use of technologies for data treatment capable of favoring the affirmation of logics characterized by transparency, citizens’ involvement and participation in the processes, activities and services of the public sector (Dawes et al., 2016; Gonzalez-Zapata and Heeks, 2015; Ubaldi, 2013; Shadbolt et al., 2012). In particular, the objective of the work is to deepen the aspects and conditions enabling the management of Public Administration (PA) according to the OGD, as well as the impact of this approach on the quality of the public service provided to the community. The choice to carry out this study arises from the consideration according to which in literature, to date, there is no organic nucleus of empirical research aimed at investigating the stimulating factors of the ODG and the concrete effects on the public service quality resulting from the implementation of such an approach in public administrations. Methodology: The work starts from the analysis of the state of the art dedicated to the methods of conducting public administrations. Specifically, through a chronological excursus, the main approaches to the management of the PA (such as the Bureaucratic Model, New Public Management, New Public Governance, New Public Service, Open Government) were analyzed to represent the paradigmatic evolution leading to the affirmation of the OGD. The most important aspects (constructs) emerging from the analysis of the literature were further investigated to verify the existence of possible relations of influence between them. To this end, for each of the identified constructs, several items were selected for the construction of a questionnaire, administered to a sample of 567 Italian citizens. The results emerged from the answers provided by the citizens allowed defining and testing a Structural Equation Model (SEM), aimed at providing empirical evidences about the facilitating aspects of the OGD and the effects of its adoption within the PA in terms of public service quality for the community. Results: The findings highlight the existence of some crucial aspects, sometimes undervalued within the PA, which should be taken into account for the proper management of public administrations according to the logic of the OGD, especially in a historical moment characterized by an increasingly felt need to manage huge amounts of data in a transparent, participatory and collaborative way. In particular, according to the results of the analysis, it is necessary to encourage the dissemination of data-driven culture at every level of society so that citizens can take advantage of the benefits deriving from a thoughtful adoption of the ODG in the PA. Implications: The work provides both theoretical and managerial implications. From a purely theoretical point of view, the thesis offers its contribution under a twofold profile: methodological and conceptual. Regarding the first aspect, the study brings to light the results obtained by testing a SEM, which represents a methodology particularly appreciated for the analysis of data in the social sciences (Hair et al., 2016; Kline, 2015), especially since it allows verifying the interrelations between latent (not directly measurable) variables (Heck and Thomas, 2015; Duncan, 2014); with regard to the conceptual profile, the thesis favors the enrichment of the literature through the analysis of an approach to company management in a sector in which the studies in this regard are still fragmented. Regarding managerial implications, the identification of the most incisive aspects in managing public administration according to the Open Government Data provides policy makers and public sector executives with valuable information for the development of policies and strategies capable of improving the quality of the service rendered to citizens. In particular, the usefulness of the thesis should be seen in the fact that, through an empirical analysis, the work offers ideas to optimize the allocation of human, economic, technological and temporal resources. In other words, in presence of limited resources, as traditionally occurs in the public sector, knowing the aspects toward which investment should be opportunely directed could generate a considerable advantage for public domain services’ recipients. Research limitations: The study follows a quantitative approach based on the test of a Structural Equation Model, defined through the administration of questionnaires. The choice to resort to questionnaires, if on the one hand allowed building a large sample (made up of over 500 citizens), on the other hand reduced the depth of the analysis, since it prevented from investigating with high degree of detail the thought of each citizen involved in the sample survey. For this reason, the thesis takes shape as a starting point for a future research project to be carried out by using additional qualitative and quantitative methods, to be applied by means of both traditional (such as interviews) and innovative (such as social media analytics) techniques. [edited by author]