A Model for Public Service Delivery in the Context of Social Media (E-Government 2.0)

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Ph.D. in Information Technology Management, Allameh Tabataba'i University, Tehran, Iran

2 Professor, Department of Industrial Management, Allameh Tabataba'i University, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Purpose: This study aimed to present a model for public services in the context of social media (e-government 2.0) in Iran.
Method: This paper used a grounded theory (GT) centered on semi-structured interviews with 23 experts in the Iranian e-government and social media development effort. The data were analyzed using MAXQDA software.
Findings: This study showed that some factors, such as goal and plan attainment, electronic readiness, and environmental changes, prepared the ground for e-government 2.0 and were affected by macro-environmental trends, including environmental crises and risks, thereby advancing progress and development. Meanwhile, it is necessary to pay attention to various implementation, cultural, and infrastructure considerations and to provide for the infrastructural, social, organizational, legal, and security requirements, which result in the development of management, knowledge, awareness, communications, and service.
Conclusion: The present study showed that achieving goals, e-readiness, and environmental changes are the basis for e-government 2.0. Crises and developments influence these factors. Also, the success of e-government 2.0 requires attention to implementation, cultural, and infrastructure requirements that lead to improved management, awareness, and service quality. Given the country's local and cultural conditions, this model can serve as a practical framework for designing and implementing e-government services in Iran.

Keywords

References

Abdelsalam, H. M., Reddick, C. G., Gamal, S., & Al-shaar, A. (2013). Social media in Egyptian government websites: Presence, usage, and effectiveness. Government Information Quarterly, 30(4), 406-416. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2013.05.020
Al-Aufi, A. S., Al-Harthi, I., AlHinai, Y., Al-Salti, Z., & Al-Badi, A. (2017). Citizens’ perceptions of the government’s participatory use of social media. Transforming Government: People, Process and Policy, 11(2), 174-194. https://doi.org/10.1108/TG-09-2016-0056
Al-Omoush, K. S., Garrido, R., & Cañero, J. (2023). The impact of government use of social media and social media contradictions on trust in government and citizens’ attitudes in times of crisis. Journal of Business Research, 159, 113748. https://doi.org/https:/doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2023.113748
Bertot, J. C., Jaeger, P. T., & Grimes, J. M. (2010). Using ICTs to create a culture of transparency: E-government and social media as openness and anti-corruption tools for societies. Government Information Quarterly, 27(3), 264-271. https://doi.org/https:/doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2010.03.001
Bertot, J. C., Jaeger, P. T., & Hansen, D. (2012). The impact of policies on government social media usage: Issues, challenges, and recommendations. Government Information Quarterly, 29(1), 30-40. https://doi.org/https:/doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2011.04.004
Carpentier, M., Van Hoye, G., & Weijters, B. (2019). Attracting applicants through the organization's social media page: Signaling employer brand personality. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 115, 103326. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2019.103326
Chen, Q., Zhang, Y., & Evans, R. (2024). Local government social media use, citizen satisfaction, and citizen compliance: Evidence from the COVID-19 outbreak in Shanghai. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 101, 104238. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2023.104238
Chun, S. A., Shulman, S. W., Sandoval, R., & Hovy, E. H. (2010). Government 2.0: Making connections between citizens, data, and government. Inf. Polity, 15, 1-9.
Corbin, J., & Strauss, A. (2008). Basics of qualitative research: Techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory, 3rd ed. Sage Publications, Inc. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781452230153
Criado, J. I., Rojas-Martín, F., & Gil-Garcia, J. R. (2017). Enacting social media success in local public administrations. International Journal of Public Sector Management, 30(1), 31-47. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPSM-03-2016-0053
Dong, X., & Lian, Y. (2022). The moderating effects of entertainers on public engagement through government activities in social media during COVID-19. Telematics and Informatics, 66, 101746. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2021.101746
DataReportal. (2024). Digital 2024: Iran. Kepios. Retrieved April 20, 2025, from https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2024-iran
Flores, C., & Rezende, D. (2018). Twitter information for contributing to the strategic digital city: Towards citizens as co-managers. Telematics and Informatics, 35(5), 1082-1096. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2018.01.005
Glaser, B. G., & Holton, J. (2004). Remodeling Grounded Theory. Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung / Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 5(2). https://doi.org/10.17169/fqs-5.2.607
Górska, A., Dobija, D., Grossi, G., & Staniszewska, Z. (2022). Getting through COVID-19 together: Understanding local governments' social media communication. Cities, 121, 103453. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2021.103453
Goulding, C. (2002). Grounded theory : a practical guide for management, business and market researchers / Christina Goulding. SAGE. London, Thousand Oaks, Calif. https://bibliotheque.univ-catholille.fr/Default/doc/SYRACUSE/469536/grounded-theory-a-practical-guide-for-management-business-and-market-researchers-christina-goulding
Graham, M. W., Avery, E. J., & Park, S. (2015). The role of social media in local government crisis communications. Public Relations Review, 41(3), 386-394. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2015.02.001
Hong, S., & Nadler, D. (2012). Which candidates do the public discuss online in an election campaign?: The use of social media by 2012 presidential candidates and its impact on candidate salience. Government Information Quarterly, 29, 455-461. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2012.06.004
Idea Agency. (2023, August 29). Trend of growth in Iranian Instagram users. Retrieved March 21, 2025, from https://ideaagency.net/trend-of-growth-in-iranian-instagram-users/
Kavota, J. K., Kamdjoug, J. R. K., & Wamba, S. F. (2020). Social media and disaster management: Case of the north and south Kivu regions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. International Journal of Information Management, 52, 102068. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2020.102068
Kapoor, K. K., Tamilmani, K., Rana, N. P., Patil, P., Dwivedi, Y. K., & Nerur, S. (2018). Advances in social media research: Past, present and future. Information Systems. Frontiers, 20(3), 531–558. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10796-017-9810-y
Khan, G. F. (2015). The Government 2.0 utilization model and implementation scenarios. Information Development, 31, 135 - 149.
Khan, S., Umer, R., Umer, S., & Naqvi, S. (2021). Antecedents of trust in using social media for E-government services: An empirical study in Pakistan. Technology in Society, 64, 101400. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2020.101400
Lincoln, Y. S., & Guba, E. G. (1985). Naturalistic Inquiry. SAGE Publications. https://books.google.com/books?id=2oA9aWlNeooC
Liu, Y., & Bakici, T. (2019). Enterprise social media usage: The motives and the moderating role of public social media experience. Computers in Human Behavior, 101, 163-172. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2019.07.029
Luna, S., & Pennock, M. J. (2018). Social media applications and emergency management: A literature review and research agenda. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 28, 565-577. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2018.01.006
Mansoor, M. (2021). Citizens' trust in government as a function of good governance and government agency's provision of quality information on social media during COVID-19. Government Information Quarterly, 38(4), 101597. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2021.101597
Meijer, A., & Thaens, M. (2013). Social media strategies: Understanding the differences between North American police departments. Government Information Quarterly, 30(4), 343-350. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2013.05.023
Marin, A. & Wellman, B. (2011). Social Network Analysis: An Introduction. In: Scott, J. and Carrington, P.J., Eds., The Sage Handbook of Social Network Analysis, Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, 11-25.
Mekonen, L. D., Kumsa, D. M., & Adamu Amanu, A. (2024). Social media use, effects, and parental mediation among school adolescents in a developing country. Heliyon, 10(6), e27855. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e27855
Mergel, I. (2012). The social media innovation challenge in the public sector. Info. Pol., 17(3,4), 281–292.
Mergel, I., & Bretschneider, S. I. (2013). A Three-Stage Adoption Process for Social Media Use in Government. Public Administration Review, 73(3), 390-400. https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.12021
Miao, L., Last, M., & Litvak, M. (2022). Tracking social media during the COVID-19 pandemic: The case study of lockdown in New York State. Expert Systems with Applications, 187, 115797. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eswa.2021.115797
Morse, J. M. (1994). Critical issues in qualitative research methods. Sage Publications.
Moss, G., Kennedy, H., Moshonas, S., & Birchall, C. (2015). Knowing your publics: The use of social media analytics in local government. Info. Pol., 20(4), 287–298. https://doi.org/10.3233/ip-150376
Marin, A., & Wellman, B. (2011). Social network analysis: An introduction. The SAGE handbook of social network analysis, 11, 25.
Nisar, S., & Shafiq, M. (2019). Framework for efficient utilisation of social media in Pakistan's healthcare sector. Technology in Society, 56, 31-43. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2018.09.003
Olanrewaju, A. S. T., Hossain, M. A., Whiteside, N., & Mercieca, P. (2020). Social media and entrepreneurship research: A literature review. International Journal of Information Management, 50, 90-110. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2019.05.011
Picazo-Vela, S., Gutiérrez-Martínez, I., & Luna-Reyes, L. F. (2012). Understanding risks, benefits, and strategic alternatives of social media applications in the public sector. Government Information Quarterly, 29(4), 504-511. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2012.07.002%20
Porwol, L., Ojo, A., & Breslin, J. G. (2016). An ontology for next generation e-Participation initiatives. Government Information Quarterly, 33, 583–594. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2016.01.007
Raimo, N., L'Abate, V., Rella, A., & Vitolla, F. (2024). The use of social media in Italian local governments: The effect of the mayor's characteristics. Cities, 150, 105070. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2024.105070
Rathore, A. K., Maurya, D., & Srivastava, A. K. (2021). Do policymakers use social media for policy design? A Twitter analytics approach. Australasian Journal of Information Systems, 25. https://doi.org/10.3127/ajis.v25i0.2965
Sivarajah, U., Irani, Z., & Weerakkody, V. (2015). Evaluating the use and impact of Web 2.0 technologies in local government. Government Information Quarterly, 32(4), 473-487. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2015.06.004
Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. M. (1990). Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques. Sage Publications, Inc.
Sun, P.-L., Ku, C.-Y., & Shih, D.-H. (2015). An implementation framework for E-Government 2.0. Telematics and Informatics, 32(3), 504-520. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2014.12.003
Tankovska, H. (2021). Number of global social network users 2017-2025. Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/260811/social-network-penetration-worldwide/
Taghavifard, M. T. & Hejazinia, R. (2021). Introducing e-Government 2.0 Maturity Model: Focusing on Developing Countries. Business Intelligence Management Studies, 10(37), 1-36. https://doi.org/10.22054/ims.2021.61644.1993
Thi Uyen Nguyen, T., Van Nguyen, P., Thi Ngoc Huynh, H., Truong, G. Q., & Do, L. (2024). Unlocking e-government adoption: Exploring the role of perceived usefulness, ease of use, trust, and social media engagement in Vietnam. Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity, 10(2), 100291. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joitmc.2024.100291
Tsao, S. F., Chen, H., Tisseverasinghe, T., Yang, Y., Li, L., & Butt, Z. A. (2021). What social media told us in the time of COVID-19: a scoping review. Lancet Digit Health, 3(3), e175-e194. https://doi.org/10.1016/s2589-7500(20)30315-0
Wiesche, M., Jurisch, M. C., Yetton, P. W., & Krcmar, H. (2017). Grounded theory methodology in information systems research. MIS Q., 41(3), 685–701.
Yi, M., Oh, S. G., & Kim, S. (2013). Comparison of social media use for the U.S. and the Korean governments. Government Information Quarterly, 30(3), 310-317. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2013.01.004
Yogapriya, G., & Nimesh , C. (2022). Impact of Social Media in Making Political Decisions in Developing Countries. Technoarete Transactions on Advances in Social Sciences and Humanities(TTASSH), 2(2), 01-06. https://doi.org/10.36647/TTASSH/02.02.A001
Zhao, Y., & Fan, B. (2018). Exploring open government data capacity of government agency: Based on the resource-based theory. Government Information Quarterly, 35(1), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2018.01.002
Zheng, L. (2013). Social media in Chinese government: Drivers, challenges and capabilities. Government Information Quarterly, 30(4), 369-376. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2013.05.017

Files

History

  • Receive Date: 19 August 2024
  • Revise Date: 28 April 2025
  • Accept Date: 10 December 2025

Share

How to cite

Statistics