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Article
Publication date: 16 May 2016

Marius Rohde Johannessen, Øystein Sæbø and Leif Skiftenes Flak

This paper aims to examine major stakeholders’ communication preferences in eParticipation initiatives and discuss how this affects the public sphere. Despite the potential of…

3982

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to examine major stakeholders’ communication preferences in eParticipation initiatives and discuss how this affects the public sphere. Despite the potential of social media, it has proven difficult to get people actively involved in the decision-making processes. There is a need for more research on how stakeholders manage and use social media to communicate.

Design/methodology/approach

The study was conducted as a qualitative case study. Data sources include interviews, social media content, document analysis and field notes.

Findings

Communication preferences of stakeholders vary according to their salience level. Stakeholders with higher salience are less likely to participate in social media, whereas those who are less salient will use every available medium to gain influence. This challenges the opportunity to create a traditional public sphere in social media.

Research limitations/implications

The authors contribute to a better understanding of who participates in social media and why. Stakeholder salience analysis shows that in the case of citizen-initiated eParticipation, social media cannot be seen as a Habermasian public sphere.

Practical implications

The authors suggest two approaches for government officials’ handling of social media: to treat social media as a channel for input and knowledge about the concerns of citizen groups and to integrate social media in the formal processes of decision making to develop consultative statements on specific policy issues.

Social implications

The study shows that power and urgency are the most important salience attributes. These findings indicate that social media may not be as inclusive as early research indicates, and less active social media users may have power and influence through other channels.

Originality/value

The findings extend current knowledge of the public sphere by adding the stakeholder perspective in addition to existing evaluative models of the public sphere.

Details

Transforming Government: People, Process and Policy, vol. 10 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-6166

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 29 July 2022

Tove Sofia Engvall and Leif Skiftenes Flak

The world is facing global challenges that require international collaboration. This study aims to describe and analyze how digital technologies are applied in global governance…

Abstract

Purpose

The world is facing global challenges that require international collaboration. This study aims to describe and analyze how digital technologies are applied in global governance to respond to such critical challenges.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors apply an interpretive case study of climate reporting to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) as a case of digitalization in global governance. It includes interviews with officials in the Swedish public administration and the UNFCCC secretariat to cover national and international levels. The authors describe the reporting process and analyze the role of information systems through the lens of information infrastructures.

Findings

“Information infrastructure” is a valuable instrument to understand digitalization in global governance as a complex interplay between information systems, information, standards, organizations, people and social structures. The level of sophistication is, however, basic with a large potential for improvement – for instance in analytical and communicative services to support evidence-based decision-making and assessment of progress.

Research limitations/implications

The data collection is limited to one governance process: reporting. Future studies should complement the findings by broadening the scope to other processes. The authors propose that digital global governance is dependent on an effective information infrastructure, and that the five design principles by Hanseth and Lyytinen (2016) offer guidance when developing this.

Practical implications

The results indicate a large unutilized potential of digital technologies to improve progress assessment, communicate more effectively with stakeholders and identify new ways of visualizing data to support decision making in global climate policy.

Social implications

Use of digital technologies, as suggested in the article, could strengthen the implementation capability of climate goals, which is of urgent need.

Originality/value

While most research in digital governance considers the national or municipal level, this study provides empirical insight and theorization of digital technologies in a global governance setting.

Details

Transforming Government: People, Process and Policy, vol. 16 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-6166

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 15 March 2013

Øyvind Hellang, Leif Skiftenes Flak and Tero Päivärinta

The purpose of this paper is to explore practical methods for benefits realisation, with the intention of investigating if they are variance of a theme or rather can be classified…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore practical methods for benefits realisation, with the intention of investigating if they are variance of a theme or rather can be classified as different approaches.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on a document study of Norwegian methods‐in‐use, this study uses an analytical comparison following an assimilation‐accommodation procedure to categorize the chosen methods as instances of approaches to benefits realisation.

Findings

This study documents the emergence of several methods from practice in the last half decade. This analysis suggests the existence of three distinct approaches to benefits realisation and defines these according to their central features.

Research limitations/implications

This is a document study that could have been enhanced by empirical data on first‐hand experiences from the use of these methods. The findings of this study document a critical investigation of methods for benefits realisation, providing an enhanced base framework of three approaches for future research to build on.

Originality/value

This study provides fresh perspectives on benefits realisation by suggesting that existing methods differ to an extent that the authors argue they belong to different approaches that are likely to cause quite different results in practical use. This has important implications for both research and practice, as research should analyse benefits realisation efforts according to approach, and practice needs to carefully consider their choice of method based on their actual needs. Further, the paper employs an established analytical framework for a novel definition of approaches to the field of benefits realisation in the public sector.

Details

Transforming Government: People, Process and Policy, vol. 7 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-6166

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 31 July 2009

Leif Skiftenes Flak, Willy Dertz, Arild Jansen, John Krogstie, Ingrid Spjelkavik and Svein Ølnes

The purpose of this paper is to promote academic discourse around the understanding of the concept of value of eGovernment and how a diverse set of benefits or values can be…

1330

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to promote academic discourse around the understanding of the concept of value of eGovernment and how a diverse set of benefits or values can be realized from eGovernment efforts.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is designed as a viewpoint paper with emphasis on grounding a set of arguments on current practice and relevant scholarly papers.

Findings

Although not based on a formal, structured review, the paper proposes that the concept of value in relation to eGovernment is insufficiently discussed and defined in the eGovernment literature. Based on the high failure rates of eGovernment efforts, it further proposes that structured approaches to benefits realization, in combination with increased focus on (public) value, can be fruitful avenues for future research. The complexity of the context and the research challenges makes interdisciplinary research teams a necessity.

Originality/value

If addressed, the research propositions can lead to an increased understanding of the complexity of the concept of value related to eGovernment. Further, the propositions promote research that can lead to more pertinent documentation of the actual value of various eGovernment efforts as well as research of good practice on how government organizations can increase their opportunities to maximize value from their eGovernment spendings.

Details

Transforming Government: People, Process and Policy, vol. 3 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-6166

Keywords

Content available
Article
Publication date: 16 May 2016

Zahir Irani and Muhammad Kamal

1188

Abstract

Details

Transforming Government: People, Process and Policy, vol. 10 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-6166

Content available
Article
Publication date: 31 July 2009

Zahir Irani

360

Abstract

Details

Transforming Government: People, Process and Policy, vol. 3 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-6166

Content available
Article
Publication date: 15 March 2013

Zahir Irani and Muhammad Kamal

107

Abstract

Details

Transforming Government: People, Process and Policy, vol. 7 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-6166

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