Increasing convergence of civic engagement in management: a systematic literature review

• Date: 08 April 2019
• Pages: 282-301
• Published date: 08 April 2019
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPSM-03-2018-0068
• Author: Vittoria Marino,Letizia Lo Presti
• Subject Matter: Public policy & environmental management,Politics,Public adminstration & management

Increasing convergence of civic

engagement in management:

a systematic literature review

Vittoria Marino and Letizia Lo Presti

Department of Management and Innovation Systems,

University of Salerno, Fisciano, Italy

Abstract

Purpose –The last ten years have shown a significant upward trend of engagement in public management

reflecting a significant increase in interest in the topic. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the benefits

and factors affecting the construct of civic engagement that thus far are missing in the current literature

through the analysis of studies published in the main journals of management.

Design/methodology/approach –Through a systematic literature review, the current research tries to

advance the progress in the understanding of the civic engagement construct analyzing a sample of 96 papers

published in the main journals on the subject areas of “communication,”“marketing”and “public

sector management.”

Findings –The literature was codified and characterized as follows: level of analysis, variables that affect

civic engagement; benefits of civic engagement; and theoretic and methodological approach. This research

explores the construct through an analysis of the literature found in the main scientific journals to intercept

its various profiles and facets alongside the mechanisms that precede and follow its manifestation.

Practical implications –Publicorganizations can no longer do withoutengaging citizens in decision-making

processes. Public managers can use these findings to establisha connection with their citizens and influence

their publics throughcommitment and managerial actions that guarantee direct democracy.

Originality/value –This is the first research that aims tostudy the phenomenon in the public sphere from a

multidisciplinary perspective that is as yet incomplete. An integrated vision can highlight current and future

developments and eventual opportunities for further research.

Keywords Community engagement, Public management, Systematic literature review, Civic engagement

Paper type Literature review

1. Introduction

Civic engagement has been the focus of great attention from public sector organizations

ever since a strong social engagement has driven these institutions to become more open to

civic participation. Nevertheless, systemizing the concept of civic engagement starting from

its many connotations is impossible without investigating the topic in all its complexities.

Of particular difficulty is finding a unique definition. Words such as public

engagement, community engagement, public involvement, public participation,

community involvement, outreach, citizen engagement and citizen participation are very

often used as synonyms, even when they are used in different contexts. The differences in

the terminology show how very little clarity there is on the subject. An initial problem stems

from the use of the term “engagement.”For example, Wilkinson et al. (2011) underscore the

difficulty in finding a definition for public engagement and associating it to the concept of

“citizenship,”that is, those practices that lead the citizen to participate in a public decisional

process for a common interest; however, it also has wider connotations, that is, to interact

and share with the members of a community or to be faithful to a group. Further, other

authors (e.g. French, 2011; Cheung, 2011; Head, 2011) see the term “public”as meaning the

involvement of those institutions or the territory in general (government institutions,

municipal government, towns, cities) that are interested in obtaining social legitimacy for

their work. Studies on involvement, therefore, sometimes refer to those directly involved in

the activities/services of public utility (institutions/organizations). The literature on the

International Journal of Public

Sector Management

Vol. 32 No. 3, 2019

pp. 282-301

© Emerald PublishingLimited

0951-3558

DOI 10.1108/IJPSM-03-2018-0068

Received 7 March 2018

Revised 11 August 2018

20 September 2018

Accepted 2 October 2018

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:

www.emeraldinsight.com/0951-3558.htm

282

IJPSM

32,3

subject shows that the current debate has an intrinsic interdisciplinary character that

requires a careful analysis of its aspects and of the context in which it is being investigated.

In recent years, the debate has produced a conspicuous number of scientific contributions.

The use of new communication technology (and its ease of use, ease of access, interactivity

and availability of information in real time and at any place and moment) has made it even

easier to reach and amplify its public. In addition to its intuitive appeal and wide usage on

the part of researchers, practitioners and policy makers, there is still very limited clarity and

agreement on the conceptualization of engagement to the extent that public engagement is

still considered a “complex construct”(Wilkinson et al., 2011). As such, the last few years

have proved that there is an increasing need to understand the mechanisms that move

participation and its deriving benefits. Researchers are trying to conceptualize the construct,

nature and determinants of public engagement by applying diversified approaches to its

investigation. Public managers, on their part, are trying to manage engagement

mechanisms to respond to their users’needs and are therefore interested in determining

how to encourage citizens/consumers to participate in decisional processes. Despite the fact

that this is an ongoing debate, and it has been dealt with in different disciplinary ambits,

there has as yet been a review of the civic engagement construct from a managerial

approach that takes into account the various perspectives from which the topic has been

investigated and identifies the aspects that could determine its effective use. To address

this gap, this study proposes a theoretical framework for a managerial approach to public

engagement. The framework highlights the antecedents and consequences of public

engagement mechanisms when citizens, nonprofit organizations and public institutions are

involved. Knowing the factors that affect civic engagement and its benefits through the

studies that have been conducted on the topic can facilitated our understanding of how to

better exploit this topic for social and civil development. Civic engagement used as a

strategic lever of public management can provide a set of tools that can be used to help

improve the efficiency and responsiveness of public service.

The multiplicity of the perspectives, and the opportunities offered by its usage in

relational strategies with stakeholders on the part of management, suggests that the field of

public engagement cannot be simply dealt with and that further knowledge on the subject is

needed, above all from an interdisciplinary point of view, which can provide an enlarged and

complete vision of its subject matter in the disciplines that can support public and private

management –specifically, communication and marketing. Marketing and communication

are clearly an essential part of public sector management (PSM). Marketing in public

management has already been addressed in the literature by Kaplan and Haenlein (2009)

and by Walsh (1994), who stated the need for the aid of marketing and communication in the

management of public organization. This is the first research that tries to study the

phenomenon in the public sphere from a multidisciplinary perspective. Our research adopts

an interdisciplinary approach to provide valid insight into the opportunities offered by the

studies on the subject. An integrated vision can highlight current and future developments

and any eventual opportunities for further research, and at the same time, it contributes to a

multidisciplinary perspective that is thus far incomplete. Therefore, the review defines the

key subjects and the main theoretical approaches adopted for its comprehension, and it

indicates the most frequently used methods of analysis. This research, therefore, explores

the construct through an analysis of the literature found in the main scientific journals to

intercept its various profiles and facets alongside the mechanisms that precede and follow

its manifestation. Moreover, we aim to identify levels of analysis that could contribute to an

interpretation of the civic engagement construct by considering the context within which it

is produced. We consider civic engagement to be a multifaceted construct with a public and

relational character that implies interest, emotions and interaction between two parties in a

bidirectional exchange that generates the cocreation of knowledge. Specifically, this paper

283

Civic

engagement in

management