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In the context of the digital age, this study aims to investigate the impact of citizens' digital participation on the scientific and democratic decision-making processes of the government. Specifically, the authors focus on the factors influencing citizens' digital participation, with a particular emphasis on their digital skills.

Exploring the influence of citizens' digital skills on their digital participation is of great practical significance for eliminating the digital divide and for promoting a life characterized by enriched digital interactions with the public. This study selected the social consciousness survey database of Chinese netizens in 2017, used ordered Probit and OLS models, and comprehensively used the instrumental variable method (IV), causal stepwise regression method and bootstrap method to empirically verify and construct a mechanism model of the influence of digital skills on citizens' digital participation.

The empirical findings indicate a noteworthy positive association between citizens' proficiency in digital skills and their active engagement in digital activities. This relationship is positively mediated by factors such as political interest and attention to social issues, underscoring their role in encouraging greater digital participation. Conversely, national identity exhibits a counteractive influence on this mechanism, potentially discouraging digital engagement. Notably, the impact of digital skill mastery on digital participation is more pronounced among non-elderly individuals and those residing in metropolitan areas, highlighting the significance of demographic characteristics in this context.

These research results can help the government and other organizations make better decisions and facilitate improvement of citizens' digital participation by promoting their mastery of digital skills.

Financial technologies or FinTech have replaced traditional financial services. Large investments have been made in FinTechs but there is a gap between service providers and consumers. Due to the high diversity and speed of changes, people still do not understand the new financial system and resist it. The success of the transition requires providing an opportunity for citizens' participation which is expressed with the term, financial citizenship. This study aims to focus on the citizenship dimension of FinTech transition and wants to analyze the influence of citizens in transition with a focus on financial technologies.

This study analyzed financial citizenship in FinTech transition by using a qualitative research method and grounded theory. The data were collected through open interviews with 26 FinTech players in Iran. Then the three-step process of open, axial and selective coding was performed and the main categories and relationships between them were identified.

Surveys have shown that educating and informing citizens provides the conditions for engagement and the formation of financial citizenship. Depending on citizens' level of awareness, they can play a role in the FinTech transition as customers, feedback providers or demanders. Of course, the disruption level of financial technological innovation affects the level of citizens' engagement. Finally, the conceptual model of financial citizenship provided and the effect of citizen participation on the FinTech transition has been analyzed.

This study is based on the belief that it is the citizens’ right to have a role in matters that directly affect their well-being. This role is not only the role of the customer and the user but goes beyond and becomes a role where citizens as players would be able to influence the technological transition like other interested players (policymakers and service providers). This research integrates the transition literature and financial citizenship; and analyzes the FinTech transition according to the position of citizens against FinTech developments.

This study aims to assess the readiness of both citizens and the government for digital participatory planning (DDP) as a contribution to the undergoing transformative shift toward smart and sustainable cities to address the challenges posed by rapid urbanization. While much attention has been devoted to leveraging technology to mitigate these challenges, there has been a relative lack of emphasis on engaging stakeholders in the planning process in a smart and inclusive manner. DPP stands as a cornerstone for the development of sustainable and smart cities. However, before DPP can be effectively implemented on the ground, it is crucial to assess the city readiness for DPP to ensure its success. This assessment is undertaken as part of Oman's broader initiative to transition into sustainable smart cities in alignment with the goals outlined in Oman Vision 2040.

A generic evaluation framework was identified, validated and customized to the local context by experts using the pile sorting technique based on the social constructivism theory. Then, the revised framework was used to evaluate the readiness of a sample of local citizens and government officials in Oman for the DPP concept.

The inferential statistical analysis revealed that citizens are willing to participate in DPP when trust and transparency with policymakers are enhanced. On the government side, the results showed that there is adequate infrastructure that can enable DPP, and planners have a positive attitude toward DPP provided that trust in citizens' opinions is strengthened. This study concludes with a roadmap for preparation for DPP implementation in smart sustainable cities mandated by Oman Vision 2040. The findings and roadmap can inform policy development, decision-making and urban planning practices toward more inclusive, participatory and technologically enabled urban environments.

The study contributes to the existing body of knowledge by emphasizing the significance of stakeholders' smart involvement in planning processes, social sustainability, evaluating city readiness for DPP and providing practical recommendations for DPP implementation in the context of smart sustainable cities. At a theoretical level, the study contributes a framework for assessing readiness for DPP and emphasizes that mutual trust is not only important for conventional participation practices but it is also essential for smart citizens. This study argues that a building or a city is not sustainable unless it is seen as such by its stakeholders, including the end users. Therefore, effective and smart involvement of the citizens in smart city planning is a precondition for the success of the future cities.

This study aims to understand and explain factors that influence how, when and under which conditions local governments adopt digital technologies for citizen collaboration. It discusses what these findings mean for city digital twin adoption.

This research uses the systematic literature review following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) process to collect and evaluate evidence needed to answer the research questions. It uses the technology–organisation–environment (TOE) framework and proposes an additional dimension: “stakeholders” as the analytical framework.

Critical influential factors identified include the technology dimension: security and privacy; organisation dimension: top management support; environment dimension: political influence; and stakeholders’ dimension: technological experience.

This research extends the TOE framework and comprehensively analyses those factors which relate to citizens but significantly impact local government’s decision to adopt digital tools for collaboration purposes. This research posits that in the context of local government technology adoption for collaboration, both the organisation and stakeholders’ dimensions are critical.

This research contributes to the government-citizen discourse and provides a constructive understanding of technological transformation in collaborative planning. The findings are helpful for local governments, researchers and geospatial industries as they offer a critical understanding of digital technology adoption, particularly city digital twins, for collaborative planning.

This study extends the TOE framework to include aspects relating to citizens. It provides a nuanced understanding of the influential factors and intricacies of technology adoption by local governments for citizen collaboration. It also discusses relevant issues of city digital twins’ adoption by local governments for citizen participation.

In recent years, the public sector has faced the challenge of digitalisation. This has significantly impacted the relationships between citizens and public organisations and, thus, it widely affects participatory processes, such as participatory budgeting (PB); in fact, digital tools (DTs) have emerged as a solution, increasing citizen engagement whilst improving efficiency, reducing costs and saving time. This contribution analyses PB in Rome, which is also implemented with DTs, seeking to understand how DTs impact citizens’ role in creating public value.

The study is based on a qualitative approach, precisely by analysing a descriptive and exploratory single case study of PB’s first adoption in Rome in 2019. The information is obtained from multiple sources and examined through document analysis.

In the Roman context, DTs in PB primarily facilitated cost-effective information sharing, offering citizens basic participation. Unfortunately, the potential for more interactive DTs was overlooked, failing to enhance citizen engagement in critical phases like deliberation, evaluation or monitoring. Therefore, the tools did not fully support citizens becoming co-creators of public value instead of just users in governance.

The novelty of this study lies in exploring the difference between the use of DTs that assist citizens/users in improving service quality and those that support citizens in creating a public and shared value. It ventures further to assess various tiers of participation, meditating on the digital elements that stimulate active engagement and value creation instead of simply expanding the participant pool or process efficiency.

The purpose of this paper is to provide answers regarding the factors that motivate or discourage the quadruple helix (QH) stakeholders and the wider public in citizen science (CS) activities. The research reveals a current overview of the perceptions, attitudes, concerns and motivation with regard to development of CS ecosystem in four countries: Greece, Lithuania, the Netherlands and Spain.

The researchers deploy a mixed methodology, entailing an in-depth literature review and a large-scale quantitative survey (approximately 2,000 citizens) targeting QH stakeholders and general public from the local national ecosystems. The results contain both descriptive statistics and statistical analysis per country. After the comprehensive overview of drivers and barriers regarding the participation in CS activities in general, the focus is narrowed down on the engagement motivation of different QH stakeholders and the differences in enabling/hindering factors at the local ecosystems.

Depending on the country and the pre-existing level of CS maturity, the results provide a complicated network of factors that unlock or block participation in CS activities. These factors include, to name a few, political maturity, civic engagement, technological infrastructures, economic growth, culture of stakeholder collaboration, psychological stimulus and surplus of resources. The implications of the findings necessitate the alignment of the envisioned CS ecosystem with the local dynamics in each country.

The quantitative nature of the survey method, limited sample size and only four countries context are noted as limitations of the study and offer future research potential for longitudinal settings and mixed-methods studies.

The results contribute to the wider literature on CS that focuses on perspectives, possibilities and differences in local contexts with respect to the public engagement by developing CS ecosystem. At the same time, its added value lies in the overall practical proposition, and how the latter can effectively and efficiently attract and retain different stakeholder groups and citizens, under a collaborative approach.

Given its ability to improve user interaction and labor productivity, ease human workloads and cut maintenance costs, public sectors are using AI-based robotic technology (AI-RT) at an accelerated rate. There is, however, little knowledge about the variables affecting citizens' participation when services backed by AI-RT are offered. In order to better understand the elements that influence AI-RT citizens' involvement and the moderating function of trusts in governmental organizations, this article draws on ideas from the Consumer Value Theory.

Out of 500 survey forms that were distributed to Indonesian people who had experience in using AI-RT devices in public service hall (e.g. airport’s Auto Gate), 367 returned the completed feedbacks. Data analysis used a step-by-step hierarchical moderated regression examination using SPSS 24 version.

Citizens’ involvement is positively correlated with esthetics and customization and adversely correlated with period expended using the AI-RT. Additionally, the findings imply that citizens who have greater levels of faith in governmental institutions are more likely to benefit favorably from the customization and esthetics of AI-RT.

The AI-RT must be capable of customizing the distribution of the appropriate materials to the appropriate individual at the appropriate moment, and public managers should guarantee that it is esthetically pleasing. Additionally, they ought to place a high priority on winning the trust of the populace in order to increase citizens’ involvement.

This paper was among the initial efforts that discover the determinants of citizens’ involvement in the AI-RT and the moderating effect of trusts in governmental organizations on the links between predictors and predicted variable, especially in an emerging country such as Indonesia.

This paper aims to explore individuals’ economic empowerment and political empowerment association and the moderation role of entrepreneurship development programs on this relationship in the context of post-revolution Tunisia, which is a newer developing democracy.

The study uses a quantitative approach based on econometric modeling. A questionnaire was designed and administrated to a stratified random sample of 343 participants in the Entrepreneurship for the Participation and Inclusion of Vulnerable Youth in Tunisia program, funded by the United Nations Democracy Fund and implemented in rural northwestern Tunisia between 2017 and 2021. A coarsened exact matching method is also applied for robustness analysis.

The analysis shows that when individuals have enhanced economic decision-making agency and are involved in economic networks, they are more likely to demonstrate higher political empowerment. It also shows that expanding rural individuals’ economic opportunities by providing entrepreneurial resources, such as entrepreneurial training and microcredit, strengthens individuals’ economic empowerment and political empowerment association.

The study provides practical implications for policymakers in newer developing democracies. Citizens’ political empowerment and inclusion in rural areas could be promoted by developing entrepreneurship development programs, which could help reinforce the citizens-state relationship and establish more stable social contracts. The research also provides practical implications for the international development community, donor agencies and program designers through duplicating similar programs in other countries with weak central government structures (i.e. post-conflict environments, post-revolution).

The research attempts to contribute to the ongoing debates linking entrepreneurship, economic empowerment and political/citizen empowerment. It focuses on a Middle East and North Africa country, Tunisia, characterized by socioeconomic issues and low civic participation.

This paper aims to investigate the extent of public participation of youth in strategic planning for local sustainable development, emphasising the establishment of a positive dialogue process between public administration and young people. Previous studies and international guidelines recognise youth as an essential group in the territorial sustainability process but also require a framework for processes and modalities for youth participation.

The analysis was carried out according to a multiple-case study approach conducted from the secondary sources (e.g. planning documents enabling sustainable development at the local level) developed by the 14 Italian metropolitan cities to assess the state-of-the-art and establish similarities and differences concerning the engagement levels found in the literature.

Although almost all the sample has undertaken a youth engagement process, this research demonstrates that only 6 out of 14 metropolitan cities - corresponding to 43% of the sample - have promoted highly engagement-intensive forms, underlining a total absence of a standardised and recursive approach in which the younger generation is consistently an integral part of sustainability strategies.

This research is innovative as it addresses practical and theoretical objectives simultaneously. The study underlines the adoption of engagement processes by metropolitan cities by considering the participatory methods implemented and providing a framework for enhancing forms of dialogue between young people and public authorities, contributing to the advancement of theoretical understanding and practical implementation.

This paper aims to investigate recycling behavior (RB) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to identify factors in the lack of citizen participation in recycling and to form strategies to raise awareness of and encourage positive recycling practices.

Based on stakeholder theory, a panel of 15 experts and 15 families was interviewed to develop a model of seven constructs and their 29 indicators. Based on the responses generated, a questionnaire was developed and tested. The survey was distributed to 106 waste management professionals. Their responses regarding the influence of regulatory promotion tactics, awareness raising, situational facilitators, motivators and synergistic habits on citizens' RB were analyzed using the structural equation modeling technique.

Several factors govern the citizens' behavior regarding recycling municipal solid waste in the UAE. The most significant governing determinants of RB observed were laws and regulations, willingness to sort and recycle and benefits of recycling. Seven constructs and their 29 indicators were studied, and the findings indicated that strategies such as creating awareness, introducing operative waste control facilities and implementing fines and regulations could improve RB in the UAE. The structural model showcased a relationship between the primary constructs and RB; hence, these constructs can directly affect waste management.

To support these findings, validation of the results from other countries and contrasting employees' RB is needed. The present study draws empirical insights into RB from a stakeholder perspective, which could be compared to RB across other cultures and countries.