Street-level bureaucrats: tensions and challenges in online placemaking

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pieter Breek ◽  
Jasper Eshuis ◽  
Joke Hermes
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Second Phase ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Emotional Labour ◽  
Street Level ◽  
Open Coding ◽  
Street Level Bureaucrats ◽  
Use Of Social Media

Purpose Social media have become a key part of placemaking. Placemaking revolves around collaboration between multiple stakeholders, which requires ongoing two-way communication between local government and citizens. Although social media offer promising tools for local governments and public professionals in placemaking, they have not lived up to their potential. This paper aims to uncover the tensions and challenges that social media bring for public professionals at the street level in placemaking processes. Design/methodology/approach This study aims to fill this gap with a case study of area brokers engaged in online placemaking in Amsterdam. In total, 14 in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted, focusing on area brokers’ social media practices, perceptions and challenges. The authors used an open coding strategy in the first phase of coding. In the second phase, the authors regrouped codes in thematic categories with the use of sensitizing concepts derived from the theoretical review. Findings The use of social media for placemaking imposes demands on area brokers from three sides: the bureaucracy, the affordances of social media and affective publics. The paper unpacks pressures area brokers are under and the (emotional) labour they carry out to align policy and bureaucratic requirements with adequate communication needed in neighbourhood affairs on social media. The tensions and the multidimensionality of what is required explain the reluctance of area brokers to exploit the potential of social media in their work. Originality/value Several studies have addressed the use of social media in placemaking, but all neglected the perspective of street-level bureaucrats who shape the placemaking process in direct contact with citizens.

Enacting social media success in local public administrations

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Ignacio Criado ◽  
Francisco Rojas-Martín ◽  
J. Ramon Gil-Garcia
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Electronic Government ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Analysis Model ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Preliminary Validation ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
Institutional Model

Purpose The diffusion of social media among public administrations has significantly grown in the last years. This phenomenon has created a field of research that seeks to understand the adoption and impact of social media in the public sector. The purpose of this paper is to identify the factors that make social media successful in Spanish local governments. Design/methodology/approach The paper is based on an adapted version of a neo-institutional model: Enacting Electronic Government Success (EEGS). The data have been collected through three main sources: primary data from a questionnaire designed and conducted by the authors, secondary data of statistical sources, and tertiary data collected through Klout Score. Findings The results from a survey and statistical analysis provide preliminary validation of the model and show a direct relationship between organizational, institutional, and environmental factors with the successful use of social media in local public administrations. The data analysis shows that ten variables jointly explain 54.6 percent (adjusted R2=0.546) of the variability observed in the dependent variable. Research limitations/implications First, the analysis model used represents a limited sample size to carry out a complex quantitative analysis. Second, the use of Klout Scores can offer some bias. Finally, certain variables complicate the comparative potential of the study. Originality/value This study provides original primary data and contributes to the growing field of study related to social technologies in public administrations. This research also confirms in an exploratory way the validity of the EEGS model.

scholarly journals “Why not use it more?” Sources of self-efficacy in researchers’ use of social media for knowledge sharing

2018 ◽  
Vol 74 (6) ◽  
pp. 1274-1292 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hussain Alshahrani ◽  
Diane Rasmussen Pennington
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Knowledge Sharing ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Personal Mastery ◽  
Mastery Experience ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
Postdoctoral Researchers

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the sources of self-efficacy that researchers rely on when using social media for knowledge sharing and to explore how these sources impact their use. Design/methodology/approach The study employed 30 semi-structured interviews with researchers at a major Scottish university. The authors analysed the interview transcriptions using directed content analysis. Findings The researchers relied on the four sources of self-efficacy proposed by Bandura (1977) when using social media for knowledge sharing. These sources lead researchers to use social media effectively and frequently for sharing knowledge, although some may discourage its use. Research limitations/implications It extends the self-efficacy integrative theoretical framework of Bandura (1977) by presenting the relative amount of the influence of these sources for researchers to share their ideas, experiences, questions and research outputs on social media. While the participants included academic staff, postdoctoral researchers, and PhD students, the majority were PhD students. Practical implications The findings can help universities understand how to promote productive use of social media. For example, academic staff who have high personal mastery experience could mentor those who do not. Originality/value This is the first known study to investigate the sources of self-efficacy that impact researchers’ use of social media for knowledge sharing.

scholarly journals IMC, social media and UK fashion micro-organisations

2017 ◽  
Vol 51 (3) ◽  
pp. 668-691 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Elisabeth Henninger ◽  
Panayiota J. Alevizou ◽  
Caroline J. Oates
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Integrated Marketing Communications ◽  
Fashion Industry ◽  
Integrated Marketing ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Online Platforms ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This paper aims to analyse the practical applicability of integrated marketing communications (IMC) to micro-organisations operating in the UK’s fashion industry, focusing specifically on the use of online platforms. Design/methodology/approach Qualitative methodological tools including semi-structured interviews, semiotics, Twitterfeed and Facebook analysis are used to examine to what extent micro-organisations apply IMC. Findings The findings suggest that these micro-organisations have a limited understanding of IMC. Although they utilise various channels, including social media, there is a disconnect between reaching the audience, understanding their needs and linking these aspects. External factors influence the use of various communication channels, leading to further fragmentation of sent messages. Research limitations/implications This research focuses on five micro-organisations within the fashion industry and thus may be seen as limited in nature. Whilst implications of the findings are discussed in terms of their impact to the wider industry and other sectors, this needs to be further researched. Practical implications Micro-organisations are underdeveloped in terms of both IMC and social media and require practical advice. Originality/value This study investigates two under-researched areas, IMC in micro-organisations and the use of social media within IMC, thereby moving forward our understanding of IMC in practice.

The emergence of connected discretion

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 370-387
Author(s):  
Bertil Rolandsson
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Good Judgment ◽  
Organizational Boundaries ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
Police Practices

Purpose Previous studies repeatedly claim that social media challenge and even disrupt organizational boundaries conditioning discretionary work. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how police officers, drawing on institutionalized value logics, actively shape their awareness of how to use social media with discretion. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on semi-structured interviews with police officers from Sweden, the analysis explores similarities and variations in how they assess their discretionary awareness of how to manage social media potentials across different police practices. Supporting documents have been analyzed to put interviews into context. Findings The analysis shows how police officers justify their awareness of how to manage two social media potentials providing communicative efficiency and networking opportunities, by applying two justificatory modalities of momentary reconciliation. Contributing to previous research, findings show how these modalities accommodate tensions between different value logics urging officers to engage in situated problem solving or moderation of the intensity in different connections. By drawing on discretionary awareness about enduring value tensions, police officers maintain legitimate claims on social media discretion. The study also complements previous research depicting digital communication and discretion as mutually exclusive. Findings suggest that web-based digitalization like social media raises new demands of awareness of a connected discretion. Originality/value Previous research rarely analyses officers’ awareness of how to manage idiosyncratic social media challenges. By introducing the concept discretionary awareness, this study illuminates how arrangements of institutionalized value logics guide police officers in applying “good judgment” in day-to-day use of social media.

Electronic participation via Facebook: the potential from Brazilian municipalities

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Josevana de Lucena Rodrigues ◽  
Sérgio Castro Gomes ◽  
Fabrício Quadros Borges
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Citizen Participation ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Electronic Government ◽  
Latent Factors ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Media Technologies ◽  
And Cluster Analysis ◽  
Use Of Social Media

Purpose This paper aims to measure the potential for electronic participation of Brazilian citizens via Facebook as social media, identifying latent factors that provide a favorable environment for such participation by Brazilian municipalities with more than 100,000 inhabitants. Based on these factors, the Potential Index for Electronic Participation (PIEP) of municipalities is calculated. Design/methodology/approach The theoretical discussion is based on the literature on electronic government and citizen participation. In the methodology, exploratory factor analysis and cluster analysis have been used to identify latent factors and to classify PIEP according to the clusters. Findings The results of the research point to serious regional discrepancies regarding the level of participation in social media, highlighting an urgent need for national e-government policies to be rethought from a regionalized point of view. Originality/value The research enhances understanding of the relation between sociodemographic indicators such as income, education, employment and those concerning the access to and effective use of social media technologies by citizens and local governments.

scholarly journals “Maybe we can work together”: researchers’ outcome expectations for sharing knowledge on social media

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hussain Alshahrani ◽  
Diane Pennington
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Knowledge Sharing ◽  
Cognitive Theory ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
Outcome Expectations ◽  
Positive Outcomes ◽  
Negative Outcomes ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Use Of Social Media

Purpose This study aims to investigate the outcomes that researchers expect from using social media for knowledge sharing and to explore how these outcomes impact their use. Design/methodology/approach The authors conducted 30 semi-structured interviews with researchers at a major Scottish university. They analysed the interview transcripts using directed content analysis. Findings Researchers expect social and personal outcomes from the use of social media to share knowledge. Each type has positive and negative forms. The positive outcomes motivate researchers to use it, whereas negative outcomes prevent them from using it. Research limitations/implications This study extends the integrative theoretical framework of outcome expectations within the social cognitive theory by exploring these outcomes and their relative amount of influence on sharing ideas, experiences, questions and research outputs on social media. While the participants included academic staff and postdoctoral researchers, the majority were PhD students. Practical implications The findings will help individual researchers and universities to use social media effectively in sharing ideas and promoting research through identifying the positive outcomes. Identifying the negative outcomes will help in using solutions to overcome them. Originality/value This is the first known study to investigate the outcome expectations that impact researchers’ use of social media for knowledge sharing.

scholarly journals Shopping as a “networked experience”: an emerging framework in the retail industry

2018 ◽  
Vol 46 (7) ◽  
pp. 690-704 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eleonora Pantano ◽  
Alessandro Gandini
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Experience Economy ◽  
Physical Point ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Point Of Sale ◽  
Shopping Experience ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
Comprehensive Framework

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to devise a comprehensive framework of the emergent shopping experience as the result of the combination of store access and the use of communication technologies, particularly social media. Design/methodology/approach The paper builds on a set of 20 semi-structured interviews to London-based young consumers aged 18-23 and adopts an exploratory approach aimed at understanding the broad relationship between retailing and social media use. Findings The findings highlight how an intensive use of social media and digital communication technologies emerges as an integral part of the shopping experience inside and outside the store. Research limitations/implications Drawing upon the notion of the “experience economy,” scholars and practitioners are actually pushed to reconsider the role of traditional shopping as in-store experience that is evolving fast as an effect of the continuous progress into communication technologies. This concept contributes to knowledge development by linking research in retail with work in the area of consumer culture. Practical implications Marketers and retailers should consider that the shopping experience is no longer limited to the physical point of sale. This means that retailers should be able to provide a shopping experience that is natively networked. Originality/value The authors identify the emerging “networked experience” of shopping, which derives from the consumers’ widespread usage of new communication technologies to collect information, their willingness to share part of this information with others, while creating new digitally mediated relationships with retailers.

scholarly journals Social media, an entrepreneurial opportunity for agriculture-based enterprises

2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 1028-1045 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wyn Morris ◽  
Penri James
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Media Use ◽  
Entrepreneurial Activity ◽  
Quantitative Methodology ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Social Media Use ◽  
Discussion Section ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Use Of Social Media

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse the current use of social media in agriculture. The primary focus of the research is to understand the messages and compare social media adopters with non-adopters. The paper addresses wider questions of the use of social media to support on farm entrepreneurship and business and considers what barriers to take up exist within the industry. Design/methodology/approach The paper adopts a case study approach utilising qualitative and quantitative methodology; combining survey data on Welsh farms and semi-structured interviews to gain a deeper understanding of social media use. The research is further informed by online documentary evidence gathered from agricultural Facebook pages and Twitter accounts. The discussion section develops a conceptual model that provides a novel perspective on social media usage in agriculture-based enterprises and discusses the potential for further uptake. Findings The paper identifies barriers to adoption of social media by agriculture-based enterprises. In conclusion, although there are barriers and objections to social media use, its mass influence provides opportunities to engage with stakeholders and develop more entrepreneurial activity. The risk aversion of some users prevents them from moving from the observational mode into one of engagement. Originality/value This paper brings an insight into social media’s potential to assist agriculture-based enterprises in dealing with the tensions between pressures to improve core farming practice and other entrepreneurial activity. The paper raises important implications for policy approaches that might seek to promote a complementary approach to farm technology adoption and entrepreneurial stance.

Insight from social media use by memory institutions in New Zealand

2018 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chern Li Liew ◽  
Gillian Oliver ◽  
Morgan Watkins
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Risk Identification ◽  
Reputation Management ◽  
Dark Side ◽  
Social Web ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Risk Management Process ◽  
Use Of Social Media

Purpose The relatively under-documented “dark side” of participatory activities facilitated by memory institutions through social media is examined in this study. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the risks and perception of risks resulting from using social media for public engagement and participation. Design/methodology/approach Semi-structured interviews were conducted with fourteen representatives from the New Zealand information and cultural heritage sector who at the time of the study were holding the main responsibilities of overseeing the social media and participatory activities of the institutions they represented. Findings It is not evident that the growth of social web has significantly changed the way the heritage sector seeks participation. Only a small minority of the sample institutions appear to be using social web tools to build community and to enhance their heritage collections. For the majority, institutional use of social media is for creating a “chattering space”. The main concerns identified by interviewees were reputation management and the risk management process followed by most institutions appeared to be reactive, responding to problems as and when they occurred, rather than proactive about risk identification and avoidance. Research limitations/implications Findings are not generalisable as the sample size of thirteen institutions is relatively small and is limited to one national context. Originality/value Findings provide insight into largely unexplored issues relating to the development of participatory cultures by memory institutions. The paper highlights a key area where further research is needed, namely to explore whether participatory heritage should primarily be about curated viewpoints or whether it should encompass capturing living dialogues, even when conversations are potentially offensive.

scholarly journals Mechanisms for enhancing the use of social media for knowledge sharing by the construction professionals

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramtin Etemadi ◽  
Carol K.H. Hon ◽  
Karen Manley ◽  
Glen Murphy
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Grounded Theory ◽  
Knowledge Sharing ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Shared Knowledge ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Common ◽  
Use Of Social Media

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the mechanisms for transforming construction professionals’ intentions into use of social media (SM) for knowledge sharing (KS). The objectives are to: identify the common types of SM platforms used by the construction professionals for KS; identify the key problems influencing transformation of the construction professionals’ intentions into use of SM for KS; identify the factors mitigating the problems; and provide recommendations for enhancing construction professionals’ use of SM for KS. Design/methodology/approach The data was collected through semi-structured interviews with Australian construction professionals and analysed using grounded theory (GT). The outcomes of the analyses formed a framework for the enhancement of SM use for KS. Findings The findings show that private SM followed by enterprise SM are more appealing to the construction professionals for KS compared to public SM; and uncertainties about users’ privacy/confidentiality and the quality of the shared knowledge adversely affect the transformation of the construction professionals’ intentions into use of SM for KS. Three types of trust are identified as the mitigators of the identified problems. A framework is proffered to enhance SM use for KS by construction professionals. Originality/value This paper contributes to the construction literature by developing a GT to explain the factors which impact the transformation of the construction professionals’ intentions into use of SM for KS. Additionally, the practical contribution of this study is the provision of framework constituting recommendations for the enhancement of SM use for KS.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document