Effect of an agency’s resources on the implementation of open government data

Abstract

Open government data (OGD) exhibits substantial political, economic, cultural, and social values that have gained considerable attention globally. Based on the investigation and analysis of the OGD practice, this study raises the research question, “Why do considerable differences exist in the degree of OGD implementation among different agencies under the same local government?” Our study takes resource-based theory as theoretical foundation to explore the factors that affect OGD implementation of constituent agencies within the same local government. A questionnaire survey is conducted to analyze the effect of factors including technical capacity, organizational awareness, organizational arrangement, and rules and regulations on OGD implementation. Results show that the technical capacity, organizational arrangement, and rules and regulations of government agencies have a direct positive effect on OGD implementation. Notably, rules and regulations moderate the relationship between technical capacity and OGD implementation. Besides, the matching degree of technical capacity and other organizational factors in a government agency exerts a positive influence on OGD implementation. Finally, our study proposes policy suggestions that emphasize the direction and focus for OGD implementation.