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Article
Publication date: 5 August 2021

Harri Jalonen, Jussi Kokkola, Harri Laihonen, Hanna Kirjavainen, Valtteri Kaartemo and Miika Vähämaa

This paper considers the potential of social media for developing public services. The paper approaches social media as a context that can provide information that might otherwise…

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper considers the potential of social media for developing public services. The paper approaches social media as a context that can provide information that might otherwise be unattainable. The focus of analysis is on a special hard-to-reach group of marginalized youths who appear to have isolated themselves from society.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors answer the question: How can the experiences of socially withdrawn youth as shared on social media be used to enrich the knowledge base relating to the initiation phase of co-creation of public services? The data retrieved from the Finnish discussion forum are analyzed using the combination of unsupervised machine learning and discourse analysis.

Findings

The paper contributes by outlining a method that can be applied to identify expertise-by-experience from digital stories shared by marginalized youths. To overcome the challenges of making socially withdrawn youths real contributors to the co-creation of public services, this paper suggests several theoretical and managerial implications.

Originality/value

Co-creation assumes an interactive and dynamic relationship where value is created at the nexus of interaction. However, the evidence base for successful co-creation, particularly with digital technology, is limited. This paper fills the gap by providing findings from a case study that investigated how social media discussions can be a stimulus to enrich the knowledge base of the co-creation of public services.

Details

International Journal of Public Sector Management, vol. 34 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3558

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