Key drivers for public value creation enhancing the adoption of electronic public services by citizens

• Pages: 546-561
• Published date: 08 July 2019
• Date: 08 July 2019
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPSM-03-2018-0081
• Author: Karen M. Gross Lopes,Marie Anne Macadar,Edimara Mezzomo Luciano
• Subject Matter: Public policy & environmental management

Key drivers for public

value creation enhancing

the adoption of electronic

public services by citizens

Karen M. Gross Lopes

Graduate Programme of Management,

Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil

Marie Anne Macadar

COPPEAD Graduate School of Business,

Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and

Edimara Mezzomo Luciano

Graduate Programme of Management,

Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil

Abstract

Purpose –The relationship between citizens and government has been gradually changing from

government centered to citizen centered. These changes can be understood from the public value perspective,

which is a promising way to foster the use of electronic services (e-services) by citizens. The purpose of this

paper is to analyze how key drivers for public value creation can enhance adopting electronic public services

by citizens. The use of e-services as a basis for applying smart technologies is also discussed.

Design/methodology/approach –A qualitative study based on both a systematic literature review and a

case study of an e-service provided by a Brazilian state government.

Findings –The study identifies that creating public value happens only after adopting e-services and that

public value can be perceived directly by those who use the service or indirectly by the observation of people

who have adopted it. A two-dimensional framework showing the direct and indirect factors that drive public

value creation is proposed based on the data collection and literature review.

Research limitations/implications –The proposed conceptual framework remains untested and the data

collection in the Brazilian context might be a limitation. Other studies could gather data based on the

collective uses of e-services.

Originality/value –The framework can be used in other studies concerning public value creation. Public

managers might consider its drivers when planning e-services as a way to link them to social, political and

collective issues in addition to smart technologies.

Keywords Drivers, Public value, Key drivers, Electronic services, Electronic services adoption,

Public value creation

Paper type Research paper

1. Introduction

The story of e-government (e-gov) is at the threshold of a new stage: lowering costs is still an

important attribute in service delivery, but adding public value has been assumed to be its

main goal (UNPAN, 2016). The use of electronic public services (e-services) is currently a

relevant issue (Lindgren and Jansson, 2013). However, we still do not know enough about

the impact and results associated with e-gov projects to foster a real organizational

transformation (Luna-Reyes et al., 2012). In addition, the low adoption of e-services by

International Journal of Public

Sector Management

Vol. 32 No. 5, 2019

pp. 546-561

© Emerald PublishingLimited

0951-3558

DOI 10.1108/IJPSM-03-2018-0081

Received 16 March 2018

Revised 31 October 2018

19 December 2018

Accepted 24 January 2019

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

www.emeraldinsight.com/0951-3558.htm

This study was financed in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior

–Brazil (CAPES) –Finance Code 001.

546

IJPSM

32,5

citizens shows that they are not receiving the benefits from the investments, and therefore

the government is not being efficient (Al-Hujran et al., 2015).

The analysis of the positive or negative effects of information and communication

technology (ICT) in the public sector should focus not only on the economic impact and

individual choices typical of the private sector, as suggested by the New Public

Management (NPM) approach, but also on the social and political dimensions and collective

preferences, as indicated in the public value paradigm (Cordella and Bonina, 2012). This

leads to a growing interest in understanding and establishing the value and impact of e-gov

investments, especially by investigating the factors that help to increase the use of

e-services not only from a theoretical perspective, but also from a managerial one. It is also

important to understand when and under what circumstances citizens adopt e-services

(Gupta and Suri, 2017).

On the one hand, there is a paradox in adopting e-services provided that even after two

decades of investments the evidence for adoption impacts is still weaker than expected

(Savoldelli et al., 2014). In the Latin American context, much research must still be

performed regarding delivering digital services (Criado and Gil-García, 2013). Especially in

Brazil, which is ranked 51 in the United Nations e-Government Development Index, the

Brazilian Government needs to improve its capacity to understand and stay aware of the

values and necessities of Brazilian citizens. Service delivery remains a challenge for

underdeveloped countries, and the regional distribution shows a growing disparity

(UNPAN, 2016). On the other hand, smart technologies such as Blockchain (Olnes et al.,

2017) and artificial intelligence (AI) (Sun and Medaglia, 2018) might offer innovative

resources needed to support new modes for producing public services either based on

manufacturing or service logic (Cordella and Paletti, 2018). Related to the cost-effective and

convenient means, smart technologies could be seen as a relevant tool to promote openness

and transparency and to reduce corruption (Gil-Garcia et al., 2016). When these technologies

are associated with innovation strategies in the public sector, which has been called

smart government practices (Savoldelli et al., 2014), they could result in effective changes for

the implementation and delivery of public services provided that they create public value

(Gil-Garcia et al., 2014).

Despite its great potential benefits for government, public administration and citizens,

there are few research approaches addressing key drivers for public value creation in

e-services, especially in a smart technology context. Furthermore, the vast majority of

studies that address the public value paradigm focus on the individual and some of them

on the implementation of smart technology, neglecting collective preferences and the key

drivers for public value creation. To fill in this research gap, this paper seeks to analyze

how key drivers for public value creation can enhance the adoption of electronic public

services by citizens. The theoretical foundation is under the lens of the public value

paradigm. In the present study we have viewed public value in electronic services as

the value produced by governments that is perceived by citizens and created with the

adoption of digital services (Lopes, 2016). A conceptual framework was defined based on

Savoldelli et al. (2014) and complemented by an analysis of 127 scientific papers.

Subsequently, a qualitative case study concerning the government of the state of

RioGrandedoSulinthesouthofBrazilwasperformed. A total of 46 interviews were

conducted with citizens, service center clerks and a government manager who uses a

specific e-service.

The results of this research can contribute in a valuable way toward public managers

addressing the socio-political complexity of the impact of e-gov to deliver better e-services to

citizens. This paper also aims to contribute to the discussion about managerial issues faced

when implementing smart technology and also to address limitations and challenges of

smart technologies for creating public value.

547

Adoption of

electronic

public services