Digital transparency and Web 2.0 in Spanish city councils

Structuration analysis of e-government studies: A bibliometric analysis based on knowledge maps

Considering the lack of systematic reviews on e-government research, this study includes research categories, spatial structure, research paradigms and noteworthy future topics in the domain of e-government. We collect 142 keywords from 2646 papers published in the Web of Science from 2000 to 2019 as the study object. Then, we identify four research categories: (1) technology and modelling in e-government, (2) drivers of e-government development, (3) public management and (4) governmental management. From public and government perspectives, we outline the spatial structure which includes theories and practices research and conclude four research paradigms: (1) theoretical modelling and application, (2) e-government development, (3) status of public management and (4) status of governmental management. Finally, we develop a 3D spatial map to analyse noteworthy topics and explore the well-studied themes: government-to-citizen, government-to-government and government-to-business, and the under-studied themes: government-to-civil society organisations and citizens-to-citizens, which helps scholars research e-government roundly.

Dynamics of Web 2.0: A Software Application "Web 2.0 Meter"

In this study, it is intended to understand the concept of Web 2.0 and to introduce its effects on the web design. In the first part of the article, necessary information is provided about relevant topics such as, Web design, the features of Web 1.0, Web 1.5 and Web 2.0 sites and the visual, social and technological implications of the Web 2.0 concept. In the second art of the article, a survey, which includes 21 questions related to Web 2.0 features, was conducted to 150 people having the internet background. This survey is applied for three web sites whose categories are accepted as Web 1.0, Web 1.5 and Web 2.0 in literature. Also, a test program called Web 2.0 Meter is developed with .Net technology to determine the category of a website and to produce comments about the necessary Web 2.0 features that the relevant web site should have. The answers given to questions were processed by Web 2.0 Meter. Consequently, the results show that Web 2.0 Meter has evaluated the category of a website in a proper way.

The Antecedents of Transparency of Italian Public Entities: An Empirical Analysis in Universities and Public Research Institutes

Transparency within universities and public research institutes is an element of significant relevance in the Italian context. Over the years, the need for greater transparency has prompted the legislator to regulate transparency obligations in order to ensure a minimum level of information disclosure. Despite the normative obligation, Italian universities and public research institutes provide different levels of information. This circumstance requires an empirical analysis aimed at understanding the different levels of transparency of Italian universities and public research institutes, and the factors that can influence the amount of information disclosed. The results show a positive impact of the size and the internationalization on the level of the transparency of these institutions.

Local governments' use of social media during the COVID-19 pandemic: The case of Portugal

While the use of social media by local governments has gained relevance in recent years, crises are critical situations that reinforce the need to reach citizens to disclose information, demonstrate the government's commitment, and increase the citizens' level of preparedness and awareness of resources. This paper examines the factors that influenced local governments' e-disclosure during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. To accomplish this objective, we systematically tracked every post published by the official Facebook page of 304 Portuguese municipalities between March 2 and July 5, 2020. The findings show that financial autonomy is the main predictor of e-disclosure, factors varied on the different phases of the pandemic's first wave, and sociodemographic factors became more prevalent as explanatory factors when the crisis worsened. Our study may help increase the level of preparedness during possible future crises. In particular, establishing communication strategies for prolonged public health crises, making financial resources available for the accomplishment of such strategies, and reducing the digital divide can contribute to more effective disclosure. Future research should explore the dynamics of disclosure during public health crises. This study also highlights the need to incorporate time in research that focuses on the determinants of e-disclosure that could also be tested in normal times.

Presencia del feminismo institucional en YouTube: estrategia de difusión de la información y ¿movilización de la ciudadanía?

En la sociedad actual el fácil acceso a la información online es una necesidad creciente. Sobre esta evidencia, y dada la escasez de investigaciones acerca de la información pública sobre igualdad de género dentro del espacio virtual, en el presente estudio abordamos el análisis de los canales de Youtube de los institutos de la mujer españoles. Así, y habiendo comprobado cuáles son las comunidades autónomas que cuentan con organismos de este tipo con canal propio, se confeccionó una ficha de análisis que, a través de una batería de indicadores, arrojó datos sobre la disposición, el uso y la gestión de la información, así como del tipo de contenidos, la interacción y el engagement generado. Fijamos el intervalo de estudio entre abril de 2018 y el primer trimestre del 2020. Los resultados muestran que, a pesar del importante trabajo realizado por estos organismos en el terreno de la igualdad de oportunidades entre mujeres y hombres, estos no están valorando en su justa medida las posibilidades que ofrece YouTube para consolidar su labor, ya que no suelen usar este medio con una intención comunicativa bidireccional ni interactiva con sus followers. De este diagnóstico, pues, se deriva una conclusión general: afianzar las políticas de igualdad requiere de la construcción de redes online que sean vehículo de información veraz y diálogo constante con la ciudadanía. De ello depende en gran medida el nivel de liderazgo de las instituciones que tratamos en nuevos entornos comunicativos, susceptibles de ser poderosos instrumentos para la lucha contra el sexismo y para el avance de la equiparación entre géneros.

Council Press Offices as Sources of Political Information: Between Journalism for Accountability and Propaganda

This study uses a qualitative approach to examine what political and technical leaders of municipalities understand transparency and public information to mean, and what role they believe the different subjects involved (government, opposition, and the public) should have. The websites of 605 Spanish councils with more than 100,000 inhabitants were analysed and three focus groups were held with political and technical leaders from a selection of sample councils. The results show that the technical and political leaders of the councils do not have a clear awareness of their function of management accountability or of the need to apply journalistic criteria to the information they publish, defending with nuances the use of propaganda criteria to focus on the actions of the local government, its information, the lack of space dedicated to public debate and the opposition’s actions. In relation to accountability and citizen participation, they have a negative view of citizens, who they describe as being disengaged. However, they emphasize that internally it is essential to continue improving in terms of the culture of transparency and the public information they provide citizens.

Relation between internet financial information disclosure and internal control in Spanish local governments

Purpose

The application of new public governance by many countries has led to the creation of new management systems in public administration and the development of an effective accounting structure with efficient internal control to guarantee a proper provision of services that meet citizens’ requirements. The purpose of this paper is to focus on Spanish local government with the intention of determining the impact of the internal control structure on the disclosure of financial information on the internet.

Design/methodology/approach

The empirical analysis used combines a descriptive aspect with an explanatory one and seeks to answer the question of whether the internal control system (ICS) influences the disclosure of financial information on the websites of Spanish LGs. The authors use a multivariate model that allows us to verify the predictive capability of the previously defined explanatory variable, internal control, in 1,806 local governments. To test the hypotheses, the authors use two different models.

Findings

The authors consider the existence and quality of the financial information disclosure in relation to ICSs, and a series of financial and non-financial variables. The authors conclude that the structure of the ICS influences financial information disclosure and its quality. Also, the socio-political variable gives a better explanation of financial information disclosure than the financial variable.

Originality/value

This research is novel to determine whether the development of ICSs in Spanish municipalities has favored and increased the disclosure of financial information financial through the municipalities’ website transparency portal. These findings will contribute to increase the importance of internal control in the management of public entities.

What municipal websites supply and citizens demand: a search engine optimisation approach

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyse if citizens’ searches on the internet coincide with the services that municipal websites offer. In addition, the authors examine municipal webpage rankings in search engines and the factors explaining them.

Design/methodology/approach

The empirical study, conducted through a sample of Spanish city councils, contrasted if the information that can be found on a municipal website fits with citizens’ demands. This has been done by comparing the most-searched keywords with the contents of municipal websites.

Findings

A positive relationship between the supply and demand of municipal information on the internet has been found, but much can still be improved. Analysed administrations rank the basic data of the organisation, as well as some of the fundamental competences thereof, at the top in search engines, but the results are not entirely effective with some keywords still highly demanded by citizens, such as those related to employment or tourism. Factors explaining internet ranking include the number of pages of the municipal website, its presence in social networks and an indicator designed to measure the difficulty of ranking the municipal place-name.

Originality/value

The results obtained from this study provide valuable information for municipal managers. Municipal websites should not only include information in which citizens are interested, but achieve accessibility standards, have a responsive web design, and follow the rules of web usability. Additionally, they should be findable, which also requires improvement in terms of the design of the municipal website thinking in search engines, particularly in terms of certain technical characteristics that improve findability. A municipal website that wants to have a good positioning should increase its contents and attain the maximum degree possible of visibility in social networks.

Social Media Usage in E-Government

When citizens are actively engaged in e-government processes as co-creators it leads to e-government development. Citizen participation in e-government is a recent phenomenon where government is seeking more involvement of citizens through different platforms. Whether citizens' participation through social media platforms leads to e-government development has been a debate in literature. In this research study, the authors investigate whether social media usage influences government's role in e-government development. Power distance between government and citizen also plays a role in deciding the extent of e-participation in e-government. In this study, the authors examine the relationship between social media, power distance, citizen engagement and e-government development. Using customer focus theory and agency theory, this study establishes that e-participation initiative by government acts as a mediator in the relation between social media usage by citizen as well as power distance to e-government development.