Public Value Creation Research Articles

Design Principles for Strategic Alignment in Smart City Enterprise Architectures (SCEA)

Smart Cities are complex systems where digital innovations are applied to design enhanced city services and enable public value creation across various domains (e.g., mobility, energy and infrastructure, environment, and so). Such complexity challenges the alignment between city strategies with city services and underlying information systems, leading to providing services that may fail to achieve city goals and meet the needs of citizens. This paper defines a set of design principles to ensure strategic alignment in Smart City Enterprise Architectures (SCEA). The design principles were derived from the literature and validated by smart city domain experts, following a design-oriented research approach. The main contribution of this paper is the formulated design principles that deepen the knowledge of Enterprise Architecture design in the smart cities field. These design principles can be used by researchers and practitioners to guide the design of innovative digital services aligned with urban strategies.

Le design thinking participatif, fortement et durablement créateur de valeur publique ? Le cas de la médiathèque de Lezoux

Concerning the effects in terms of public value creation, the literature on designing public services using “design thinking” remains incomplete. For our part, we use the SERVQUAL model and the concepts of public marketing to measure precisely, in the case of the cultural services of a rural community, the results obtained by a “participatory design thinking” method. In this case, participatory design by “design thinking” strongly and sustainably increases the coherence, the perceived helpfulness, the social cohesion and the democratic aspect of the services. Therefore, prospects for optimizing public service co-design practices can be considered.

Research on the Problems and Causes of Home and Community Elderly Care Services

From the development status of home and community elderly care services in XX County, we can see the following problems in this field: insufficient public participation; The effectiveness of public value creation is insufficient; The realization of public value is insufficient. These problems are mainly attributed to the following aspects: single publicity means of government and relevant departments, no enough promotion of it, unchanged public pension concept and insufficient government funding.

TOWARD VALUE CREATION IN LOCAL AUTHORITIES: THE ROLE OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to focus on the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) by local authorities (LAs) in order to understand to which extent, they impact the value chain of local public services. The value creation in this article concerns not only economic effectiveness and efficiency but also the articulation and development of ICTs in the strategy of the LA, as well as the impact on citizen satisfaction. Research methodology – The methodology applied is quantitative, based on a questionnaire addressed to managers and officials in different Moroccan LAs (regions, provinces and prefectures, municipalities). SPSS 25 was used as a materiel to analyze the result of the linear regression. Findings – The results obtained confirm the importance of ICT in terms of optimization of expenses, the improvement of the quality of work by facilitating communications between services. In addition, the ICT are no longer centered on the managerial side, but contribute to the consecration of good governance principles, namely transparency and citizen participation. Research limitations – The present research excludes political leaders throughout data collection. Methodologically speaking, this means that the study can also take on the meaning of an exploratory study with qualitative method (interviews, case studies) in order to understand how these ICT, contribute to local public value creation. Practical implications – The research provides clues to LA managers about the importance of ICT and their contribution to value creation. The results obtained encourage decision makers to accept this change and to adopt the ICT approach in order to provide a higher quality of services. Originality/Value – The originality of this paper lies in the variables and the context in which they are studied. The existing literature interested in introducing ICTs in the public sector focus on the use of these tools to achieve economic performance. Furthermore, only a few research papers have been conducted on value creation in LA including the impact of ICT which justifies the originality and novelty of this paper.

Gender‐responsive budgeting for public value creation: Insights from higher education

AbstractThis study explores how managers and officials enable public value (PV) creation through accounting practices in higher education institutions (HEIs). Adopting a narrow perspective related to gender accounting, this paper presents a comparative case study of three HEIs based in Italy that have been implementing gender‐responsive budgeting (GRB) in the last few years. Interviews are conducted with managers and officials involved in GRB processes. The results are analyzed on the basis of Moore's strategic triangle and the strategic alignment among its dimensions. Scarce integration within HEI strategies and low involvement of internal and external stakeholders in iterative processes for strategy definition are identified. Furthermore, the GRB is a standalone gender accounting practice and has limited capability of assessing gender equality outcomes. These results are among the main factors limiting the capability of HEIs to deliver PV through GRB.

Creating public value in regional policy. Bringing citizens back in

ABSTRACT We develop a novel citizen-centred multi-dimensional approach to public value creation in regional policy. Drawing on 47 citizen focus groups in 16 European regions, public values are analysed through an interpretative comparative approach. Goal attainment is a positive and widely held value. However, evaluations of institutional performance and democratic values are more negative. The findings have significant implications for public value management. We propose a five C’s public value creation framework emphasizing coherence across public values and the communication and co-creation of public value sustained through capacity building and continuous feedback. Implications for public value theory, European regional policy and future research are discussed.

The creation of public value from the action of hybrid organisations

The creation of public value from the action of hybrid organisations

How is public value associated with accountability? A systematic literature review

IMPACT Accountability can be seen as a good governance practice that promotes public value creation by achieving legitimacy, or as one component of a set of public values that also helps define good governance. Since public value theory is considered a post-NPM paradigm that can enhance accountability, responsiveness, and transparency, a clearer understanding of the association between these concepts is critical for public managers and policy-makers wanting to build reporting, auditing, and accountability processes from a public value perspective.

Decentralized identity (DID): new technology adoption and diffusion in South Korea

PurposeThis study aims to study the role of co-production among heterogenous actors to achieve a digital transformation for public service delivery. The importance of building legitimacy and public value creation during the journey of adopting new technology is mainly discussed through analyzing the case of blockchain-based decentralized identity (DID) in South Korea (Korea).Design/methodology/approachUsing a qualitative method, the conceptual framework for this study draws on public value theory that highlights co-production approaches on adoption and diffusion of new information system.FindingsThe results of this study provide empirical support for the claim that co-constructive and cross-sector partnership is critical to the adoption of blockchain-based DID and to maximize the value-in-use and increase citizens’ participation.Originality/valueThis study suggests a new perspective, which contributes to the information system literature and the phenomenological analysis by investigating co-constructive partnership among cross-sector organizations through the legitimacy-building process, which has not been much empirically researched.

A typology of dis/value in public service delivery

IMPACT Public service providers are now expected to play a central role in public value creation by designing and delivering services that are both relevant and beneficial to the wider society in which they operate. In this article the authors explore the view that service providers can destroy, as well as create value. Drawing on a scoping review of the public value and co-creation literatures, the article proposes a typology of the types of dis/value emerging from the review. The findings will be useful for professionals engaged in designing and delivering public services, including managers, planners and commissioners.

Delivering public value by selected government departments in South Africa – Perceptions of senior managers

Background: Over the years, the expectations of both the public and private sectors regarding value have changed significantly, thereby increasing the need for government departments to revisit their public-value creation model.Aim: This study sought to explore perceptions of senior managers in selected national government departments in South Africa with regard to the influence of information sharing, process innovation, stakeholder analysis and engagement in the relational governance and public value.Setting: The respondents were 230 senior managers from the five national government departments who, over time and in various groups, attended the Executive Development Programme hosted by the National School of Government.Methods: A quantitative research approach involving a cross-sectional survey design was followed in the study. Data were analysed by means of structural equation modelling (SEM).Results: In the study a strong, positive relationship was found between information sharing, process innovation, stakeholder analysis and relational governance. Further, a strong positive relationship between relational governance and public value was also established.Conclusion: Based on the perceptions of senior managers, government departments seeking to deliver superior public value need to focus primarily on managing their relational governance. To that end, it is vital that they develop their information-sharing and process innovation, as well as stakeholder analysis and engagement.

Agency Relations, Accountability, and Their Relation to Local Government Public Value Creation

The purpose of this study is to analyze the relationship between agency, accountability, and their relationship to the creation of local government public value. The method used to compile this research is a survey of academic literature in the field of public administration that is relevant to the research theme. The results obtained from this study indicate that in the administration of local government there are agency relationships and problems. In addition, local government accountability is still not optimal. Therefore, in the future, local governments need to prioritize two-way relationships, accountability models, and public values.

Influence of digital government innovation on transformational government in resource-constrained contexts

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to examine the influence of digital government innovation on transformational government. Digital government innovation is ordinarily implemented as means for the creation of public value. However, realisation of benefits from the digital government platforms has proved to be a challenge, and great discrepancy has been observed in the extent of public value generated, pointing to lack of innovativeness in resource-constrained environments. This research investigates the influence of digital government ambidexterity as an innovation strategy in enhancing transformational government (T-Gov). The authors develop hypotheses relating to digital government ambidexterity with two factors of innovation for enhancing T-Gov: exploitation incremental digital innovation and exploration radical digital innovation.Design/methodology/approachThe hypotheses are tested using a sample size of 690 citizens interacting through digital government platforms. The authors identify exploitation incremental digital innovation and exploration radical digital innovation as factors, and how these factors of digital government ambidexterity influence information quality for public value creation. The success of T-Gov is associated to the implementation of digital government policy which moderate the relationship between digital government ambidexterity and information quality.FindingsThe empirical outcomes suggest that exploitation incremental digital innovation and exploration radical digital innovation positively influence information quality, thereby leading to public value, and this result become successful if there is implementation of digital government policy. Treating the two factors of digital government innovation as complementary leads to public value creation.Research limitations/implicationsLimited time and funds to conduct a country comparative study. The study only focused on urban municipalities, of which it would be interesting to explore rural municipalities.Practical implicationsAdoption of MunINFORQUAL model for promoting digital government platform utilisation by citizens.Social implicationsThe utilisation of digital government platforms would improve citizens’ lives in a number of ways. For instance, citizen municipal interaction for service delivery and social benefits through instant notifications of developmental projects.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the research literature on digital government innovation particularly from resource-constrained environments. Also, the study provides new empirical test using a data set of 690 citizens interacting through digital government platforms.

Enhancing e-government with a digital twin for innovation management

PurposeThe implementation of digital twin in e-government services will become the future of public service delivery. It has a great promise for significantly optimizing e-government service delivery in public services because digital twin can be leveraged to achieve value co-creation, which can be turned for innovation and new knowledge creation. The purpose of this study is to fill a knowledge gap in the domain of e-government with digital twin enabled.Design/methodology/approachThis study examined the concept of digital twins in the context of e-government for innovation management. This research applied exploratory research discussing a dynamic and interpretive model that examines the main factors to consider when developing digital twins for the Fourth Industrial Revolution’s integration of e-government services. This study begins with a thorough assessment and then evaluates the results to propose a model that would be used as a benchmark for future research. Secondary data was gathered from a variety of previously published primary research sources, including peer-reviewed journals, case studies, periodicals, newspapers and books.FindingsE-government with digital twin platform will become increasingly integral to business or public value creation and can be managed individually as people and organizations expect much greater value for their well-being that is linked to a number of better outcomes. E-government with digital twin will no longer to be seen as a static web service but the next enabling platform to offer a comprehensive digital advisory for each and every user. The digital twin’s goal is to extract all of a user’s digital activity processes and thoroughly analyze them across all of e-services. When there are crucial issues or problems that need to be alerted to the (physical) user, the digital twin will present options, solutions and recommendations based on the entire gathered data continuum.Research limitations/implicationsThis study is conducted to provide a better understanding of the digital twin’s impact on public service delivery in the future. When it comes to e-government, a digital twin is a digital representation of an individual with the ability to integrate e-government services (such as e-citizenship, e-employment, e-participation, e-business, e-commerce, e-health, e-learning, e-regulation, e-entertainment and so on) with nearly real-time data and advanced analytics. Individuals will be able to improve, discover, foresee and make better and faster decisions as a result of the digital twin. The proposed model shows a future scenario for e-government services, in which the key principle of Industrial Revolution 4.0, Cyber Physical Systems, is accommodated by digital twins.Originality/valueThis study provides academics, policymakers and practitioners in the fields of technology, public and/or private service delivery and public policy, with the opportunity to define priorities, processes and outcomes of e-government services and thereby benefit more directly from the findings of the study. This study presents some novel insights into e-government services the use of digital twins to optimize public service delivery.

A causal model for creating public value (in institutional voids)—the case of Lesvos

The Greek island of Lesvos is a holiday destination that became the main entry point for forced migrants to Europe during 2015 and 2016. These circumstances of disruptive societal change are used as the basis for developing a causal and dynamic model that creates public value in institutional voids.The clash between a holiday location and a humanitarian-ecological disaster and the fact that volunteers were the frontline response at the border of the EU in a politically complex situation made this, at the time, a very special case. The attention of celebrities and the media, Lesvos’ geographical proximity to Turkey, the historical conflicts between the two neighbouring countries, the lack of interaction between local people and the involvement of international NGOs spurred conflicts between various actors, causing social fragmentation on the island.The model identifies the core aspects of strengthening social capital and building trust to counter such societal fragmentation. Following Archer’s morphogenetic approach as a meta-concept, and the identification of causalities for understanding the social dynamics on Lesvos as a starting point, an extended version of Moore’s public value concept was used to build the empirical basis for the development of the model.The model presented can be used to distinguish between three very separate pathways of creating public value. I call this public value (PV) outcome creation. These pathways are described separately by using causal loop diagrams (CLDs). When aligned, they suggest a causal understanding of how adaptive leadership and collaborative governance can be a core element and a generative mechanism of social change that creates public value.Although the paper draws on a case study that is relevant to migration studies, it is not a migration study, but rather an attempt to use and improve “social-theory reflection” by applying a systems thinking approach as we embark on addressing public value creation, social problems and social-systems transformation (in institutional voids).

The Spontaneous Creation of Public Value: Open Digital Collaboration Among Public Professionals

This article presents a study aimed to understand the role and effect of spontaneity in public value creation (PVC) by examining the process of spontaneous collaboration within open professional digital spaces (PDSs) in which public professionals interact regarding professional topics. It first describes the existing research that contributed to the construction of our research question and framework. It next examines the significance of focusing on spontaneous collaboration to study PVC in the digital era context. Using a framework built on process analysis, this study scrutinizes three microcases observed within two PDSs clustering public professionals working in the public territorial sector in France. The results show that first, in the context of open professional digital spaces, spontaneous collaboration could achieve PVC, although not systematically, and second, a balance between the spontaneity of demands and the spontaneity of responses is necessary for concretizing actors’ spontaneity in PVC. The paper ends by suggesting further research avenues regarding spontaneous digital collaboration among public professional with the purpose of PVC.

Creating Inclusive Value in Cross-Sector Collaborations

Urban grand challenges call for novel cross-sector collaborations between public, private, and social sectors. While such cross-sector collaborations have the potential to generate broader systemic solutions to sustainability challenges, the diversity of the organisations involved demands constant realignment of collaborators’ goals, projected outcomes, and concomitant degrees of involvement. However, current research lacks an understanding of how cross-sector collaborations that aim to tackle GCs manage such diversity of actors and interests. To address this gap, we conducted an inductive, three-year longitudinal case study of a cross-sector collaboration aimed at generating new solutions for grand challenges in cities. We identify three different phases of development, each of which is characterised by alternative shared narratives, common practices, and joint outcomes. While the phase shifts were triggered by perceived dysfunctionality in public and private value creation, stability was maintained through inclusive value, which was determined by the interplay of narrative and practices. We contribute to the research on cross-sector collaboration, grand challenges by introducing inclusive value creation as a new type of collaborative value, and we propose and explicate three alternative processes that can create inclusive value. We also contribute to research on robust action by presenting an integrated form of robust action.

Re-Organizing for Public Value in the Anthropocene

This paper reconceptualises public value for the era of the Anthropocene and suggests that the best site for organizing for the creation of public value is the City. Existing understandings of public value are human-centric and only consider economic values. If public value is to be fit for the world of the Anthropocene and the climate crisis, local ecologies and other non-human actors need to be included as beneficiaries of public value creation. Including these new, non-human, actors facilitates a new understanding of what is value to focus on sustainability and resilience in the local natural ecosystem. The paper argues that City leadership and governance are best placed to both understand the needs of the local ecology and to produce the networks to create value for it.

Co-creating a Better Public Value Through Open Innovation: A Bibliometric and Interpretive Review

The evolving institutional, technological, and social contingencies faced by public sector entities make open innovation to be a candidate for being the new normality of public sector management. However, there is little agreement on the distinguishing traits of open innovation in the public realm. The article systematizes the multiplicity of insights delivered by the extant scientific literature, providing a thick and comprehensive account of open innovation in the public sector. A dual approach was taken to conduct this literature review. A bibliographic analysis was implemented to shed light on main research streams driving recent advancements in the management discourse about open innovation in the public sector. Next, an interpretive account of research streams was rendered, highlighting the core arguments addressed by extant scholarly literature. The SPAR-4-SLR protocol was used to collect, assess, and analyze scientific items, enabling us to ensure the study replicability and reliability. Altogether, 108 items were clustered in 5 research streams, accounting for an evolutionary view of open innovation in the public sector. Public sector entities play different roles to foster open innovation. They conventionally act as “senior partners” of private companies, providing funding (Yellow cluster) and data (Purple cluster) to sustain open innovation ecosystems. An alternative perspective understands open innovation as an innovative public management model, which is purposefully enacted by public sector entities to generate public value (Red cluster). Fitting architectures (Green cluster) and mechanisms (Blue cluster) should be designed to propel open innovation in the public sector. Alongside unveiling compelling avenues for further developments, the paper points out insights for scholars and practitioners, emphasizing the need for reconceptualizing the role of public sector organizations in the open innovation context. Tailored management and organizational interventions are needed to overcome the obstacles and the barriers which prevent the exploitation of open innovation as a new public value creation model

Is a more transparent, connected, and engaged city a smarter investment? A study of the relationship between 311 systems and credit ratings in American cities

It has been noted that “the impact of technologies to foster public value creation using open data and transparency websites, crowdsourcing and participation platforms, smart city sensors, or social media technologies, among others, remains broadly unexplored from the perspective of public sector management” (Criado & Gil-Garcia, 2019). The public value of having a higher municipal credit rating reduces borrowing costs and consequently lowers the cost to manage government programs. In this article, the relationship between credit ratings and local governments' decisions to utilize one of the first sets of information and communications technology (ICT) innovations is investigated—the 311 system (non-emergency versions of 911 that use phone, web, and mobile application interfaces)—the analysis pairs longitudinal financial data with information on the implementation of 311 systems. The results of our analysis demonstrate that access to 311 systems, particularly web/mobile-based 311, can positively influence a city's credit rating. Additionally, we find that the length of time since 311 was adopted is positively related to credit ratings. The effect is visible with phone-based and web/mobile-based 311. These results suggest that cities with 311 systems and those with 311 in place longer have higher credit ratings. These results could indicate that cities with 311 are better managed or simply more transparent to investors, thus posing lower risks.