Open Government Data Policies Research Articles

Can open government data policy improve firm performance? Evidence from listed firms in China

AbstractOur study aims to understand the impact of open government data (OGD) policy on firm performance and the moderating role of firm characteristics. The difference‐in‐difference model is used to analyze 10‐year panel data from 477 Chinese listed firms. The findings indicate that (a) OGD policy positively affects firm performance; (b) firm size positively moderates the relationship between OGD policy and firm performance; (c) R&D intensity nonlinearly moderates the relationship between OGD policy and firm performance; and (d) OGD policy significantly affects state‐owned firms. This paper provides suggestions for improving OGD policy and OGD market construction.

Studying open government data: Acknowledging practices and politics

Abstract Open government and open data are often presented as the Asterix and Obelix of modern government—one cannot discuss one, without involving the other. Modern government, in this narrative, should open itself up, be more transparent, and allow the governed to have a say in their governance. The usage of technologies, and especially the communication of governmental data, is then thought to be one of the crucial instruments helping governments achieving these goals. Much open government data research, hence, focuses on the publication of open government data, their reuse, and re-users. Recent research trends, by contrast, divert from this focus on data and emphasize the importance of studying open government data in practice, in interaction with practitioners, while simultaneously paying attention to their political character. This commentary looks more closely at the implications of emphasizing the practical and political dimensions of open government data. It argues that researchers should explicate how and in what way open government data policies present solutions to what kind of problems. Such explications should be based on a detailed empirical analysis of how different actors do or do not do open data. The key question to be continuously asked and answered when studying and implementing open government data is how the solutions openness present latch onto the problem they aim to solve.

Open government data awareness: eliciting citizens’ requirements for application design

PurposeOver the past decade, governments around the world have implemented open government data (OGD) policies to make their data publicly available, with collaboration and citizen engagement being one of the main goals. However, even though a lot of data is published, only a few citizens are aware of its existence and usefulness. The purpose of this paper is to identify the requirements for an application that raises awareness of Open Government Data (OGD) to citizens.Design/methodology/approachThis study followed a design research science approach to collect citizens’ requirements for the design of such an application through interviews with 10 citizens and evaluated through user testing with 25 citizens.FindingsThis study identified and validated 11 requirements that can be implemented to raise citizens’ awareness of OGD. The most useful are listing OGD reuses with information about data used and receiving notification when a new OGD reuse is released. Furthermore, the evaluation results provided evidence of the effectiveness of using an application to improve OGD awareness to citizens.Originality/valueThis research provides requirements that can be used by developers to implement a usable tool to raise citizen awareness or by researchers to evaluate applications whose objective is to raise citizen awareness. Finally, it provides a mobile application that can used by developers to showcase their OGD reuses or by researchers to aware citizens of OGD through real-world examples.

The developmental state and its discontent: the evolution of the open government data policy in Taiwan

Since the late 1980s, emerging political and economic forces challenged the effectiveness of so-called ‘developmental states’. While some argue that the development state is dead, others proclaim its persistence to this day. To explore the persistence and changes of developmental states, I use Taiwan’s open government data (OGD) policy as an analytical case. OGD was initially promulgated as primarily an economic policy, but it became a policy that also emphasised good governance. The evolution suggests that the developmental state in Taiwan has both persisted and been transformed. The persistence can be seen in the continuous influence of competent economic bureaucracies, ad hoc ties between state and capital, and the commitment to state-led economic development. On the other hand, the state has also changed, as non-economy-centred agencies have gained substantial power, the strength of civil society vis-à-vis the government has grown significantly, the bureaucracy has been increasingly incorporated into the ‘world polity’ and the logic of democracy has begun to be seen as supplementary to economic development. My theorisation rejects the wholesale endorsement or abandonment of the concept of ‘developmental state’ and treats the state as an entity that has ‘many hands’ and different types of ‘path dependence’.

Open government data portals: Predictors of site engagement among early users of Health Data NY

A key premise of open government data (OGD) policies is enhanced engagement between government and the public. However, it is not well understood who the users of OGD are, how to tailor OGD content, and which communities to target for outreach. We examined users' engagement with Health Data NY, New York's health oriented OGD portal, to understand user characteristics associated with increased site engagement. We used Google Analytics data to classify four site engagement metrics into high versus low engagement and used logistic regression to test associations between higher site engagement and gender, age group, device type, and consumer interest. We found that being in a younger age bracket, male, a desktop user, and a Technophile are associated with higher engagement. The findings contribute to further understanding OGD initiatives and consumer health information behavior. More broadly, we demonstrate how OGD managers can leverage their web analytics data to understand which users are most engaged, thereby enabling them to better target their content.

Open health data: Mapping the ecosystem.

BackgroundGovernments around the world own multiple datasets related to the policy domain of health. Datasets range from vaccination rates to the availability of health care practitioners in a region to the outcomes of certain surgeries. Health is believed to be a promising subject in the case of open government data policies. However, the specific properties of health data such as its sensibilities regarding privacy, ethics, and ownership encompass particular conditions either enabling or preventing datasets to become freely and easily accessible for everyone.Objective and methodsThis paper aims to map the ecosystem of open health data. By analyzing the foundations of health data and the commonalities of open data ecosystems via literature analysis, the socio-technical environment in which health data managed by governments are opened up or potentially stay closed is created. After its theoretical development, the open health data ecosystem is tested via a case study concerning the Data for Better Health initiative from the government of Belgium.ResultsCreation and assessment of an open health data ecosystem consisting of stakeholders, interests, information policies, and data preparation activities.ConclusionsThe policy domain of health includes de-identification activities, bioethical assessments, and the specific role of data providers within its open data ecosystem. However, the concept of open data does not always fully apply to the topic of health. Such several health datasets may be findable via government portals but not directly accessible. Differentiation within types of health data and data user capacities are recommendable for future research.

Open Data in Action: Initiatives during the Initial Stage of the COVID-19 Pandemic

This demand has been driven by several needs: taking informed policy actions quickly, improving communication on the current state of play, carrying out scientific analysis of a dynamic threat, understanding its social and economic impact, and enabling civil society oversight and reporting.This report, prepared by the OECD Digital Government and Data Unit and the NYU’s The GovLab, assesses how open government data (OGD) was used to react and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic during initial stage of the crisis (March-July 2020) based on initiatives collected through an open call for evidence. It also seeks to transform lessons learned into considerations for policy makers on how to improve OGD policies to better prepare for future shocks.

Open government data policy and value added - Evidence on transport safety agency case

Open government data (OGD) is expected to generate economic growth and boost innovation. To demonstrate how open government data was utilised by business actors and how the data translated into economic gross value added, the case of Finnish Transport Safety Agency's data is shown. The estimated annual increased marginal turnover enabled by the OGD of the private companies yielded to a minimum of 102 million EUR. The estimated annual gross value added to the economy based on the use of OGD was 41 million EUR. The industries benefitting the most from open data policy were the insurance and financial services, marketing and publishing.

Resisting by workarounds: Unraveling the barriers of implementing open government data policy

All public values (transparency, accountability, civic participation, and collaboration) of open government could be difficult to achieve without administrators' good implementation. This paper raises concern that perceived risks to OGD accountability lead to undesired strategic resistance. Using a nation-wide government survey data of Taiwanese public servants, this study empirically tests for differences in OGD behaviors between two types of perceived risks (individual accountability vs. organizational accountability). Results find the existence of perceived risks to accountability in the process of data release and positive effects on inducing strategic workaround when implementing OGD policies. These findings shed light on the understanding of practices of open government and contributes to knowledge of administrative behavior.

Extraction of knowledge from open government data

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to establish a new conceptual iterative framework for extracting knowledge from open government data (OGD). OGD is becoming a major source for knowledge and innovation to generate economic value, if properly used. However, currently there are no standards or frameworks for applying knowledge continuum tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs) to improve elicit knowledge extraction from OGD in a consistent manner.Design/methodology/approachThis paper is based on a comprehensive review of literature on both OGD and knowledge management (KM) frameworks. It provides insights into the extraction of knowledge from OGD by using a vast array of phased KM TTPs into the OGD lifecycle phases.FindingsThe paper proposes a knowledge iterative value network (KIVN) as a new conceptual model that applies the principles of KM on OGD. KIVN operates through applying KM TTPs to transfer and transform discrete data into valuable knowledge.Research limitations/implicationsThis model covers the most important knowledge elicitation steps; however, users who are interested in using KIVN phases may need to slightly customize it based on their environment and OGD policy and procedure.Practical implicationsAfter its validation, the model allows facilitating systemic manipulation of OGD for both data-consuming industries and data-producing governments to establish new business models and governance schemes to better make use of OGD.Originality/valueThis paper offers new perspectives on eliciting knowledge from OGD and discussing crucial, but overlooked area of the OGD arena, namely, knowledge extraction through KM principles.

Open government data portals in the European Union: Considerations, development, and expectations

The goal of open government data (OGD) initiatives is to promote transparency, efficiency and public participation in public management policies. To do so, public organizations must consider which elements might help the development of their open government data portals (OGDP). This paper studies the evolution of OGDP in the 28 countries of the European Union (EU) in a multidisciplinary setting. Whereas the comparative frameworks in the literature are mostly based only on technological parameters, this exploratory research aims to uncover which factors might uphold the successful development of OGDP through the analysis of the relationships between a number of technical and socioeconomical indicators over a period of three years (2015–2017), using a clustering methodology. The results show that EU countries are slowly homogenizing their OGD approaches into two currents/speeds, based mainly on economic factors and open government development status. The originality of this research lies in the sense that it provides not only a technical benchmark, but also a longitudinal and multidisciplinary perspective that will add to the current formulation of OGD policies and practices in any international setting.

The associativity evaluation between open data and country characteristics

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to review the levels of open government data (OGD) among various countries that are not consistent with the development levels of those countries. This study evaluates the associativity between OGD Index (OGD) and the characteristics of those countries as well as to compare the degree of OGD among countries. Accordingly, an advanced discussion to explore how a country’s characteristics affect how that country’s government opens data was presented.Design/methodology/approachThe stakeholder relationships of OGD is analysed with the characteristics of a country. The usage data are compared with the data availability according to nine indicators. These data collected from the statistics and OGDI websites are grouped for comparative statistical analyses based on basic descriptive statistics, one-way analysis of variance and a regression model with variance inflation faction.FindingsThe results 1) revealed the reasons some countries have high-ranking indexes and 2) verified the high index values of countries in terms of their degrees of development. This study, thus, attempted to derive a balanced appraisal of national development and OGD.Research limitations/implicationsThe study sample is limited only to countries 1) which open the statistical data; and 2) are of uneven population density and development degree. The OGDI is limited to expert evaluation. The score might be vary to experts and users with diverse countries at different evaluation period. The limitations can be attributed to the differences between OGDI and real open levels. These differences might influence the reliability and validity.Practical implicationsGovernment departments with OGD policies provide raw data in various formats and with application interfaces for user access. This study, thus, attempts to derive a balanced appraisal of national development and OGD. The factors that evaluate which types of countries open the level of data are explored.Originality/valueThis study establishes stakeholder relationships of OGD and extends to analyse the characteristics of a country and OGD that affect the government data open level. The relationships are evaluated through the OGDI with design score scheme. The measurement results indicated that a country possesses high relation to open data with high DI and nature resource.

Open government data: critical information management perspectives

PurposeOpen government data and access to public sector information is commonplace, yet little attention has focussed on the essential roles and responsibilities in practice of the information and records management professionals, who enable public authorities to deliver open data to citizens. This paper aims to consider the perspectives of open government and information practitioners in England on the procedural and policy implications of open data across local public authorities.Design/methodology/approachUsing four case studies from different parts of the public sector in England (local government, higher education, National Health Service and hospital trust), the research involved master’s level students in the data collection and analysis, alongside academics, thus enhancing the learning experience of students.FindingsThere was little consistency in the location of responsibility for open government data policy, the range of job roles involved or the organisational structures, policy and guidance in place to deliver this function. While this may reflect the organisational differences and professional concerns, it makes it difficult to share best practice. Central government policy encourages public bodies to make their data available for re-use. However, local practice is very variable and perhaps understandably responds more to local organisational strategic and resource priorities. The research found a lack of common metadata standards for open data, different choices about which data to open, problems of data redundancy, inconsistency and data integrity and a wide variety of views on the corporate and public benefits of open data.Research limitations/implicationsThe research is limited to England and to non-national public bodies and only draws data from a small number of case studies.Originality/valueThe research contributes to the debate about emerging issues around the complexities of open government data and its public benefits, contributing to the discussions around technology-enabled approaches to citizen engagement and governance. It offers new insights into the interaction between open data and public policy objectives, drawing on the experience of local public sectors in England.

Proposing a total quality management (TQM) model for open government data (OGD) initiatives: implications for India

PurposeThis paper aims to advance a total quality management (TQM) model for the open government data (OGD) initiatives undertaken by the governments. As an example, the paper investigates the national OGD portal of India (www.data.gov.in) and provides implications of the proposed TQM model for the Indian case.Design/methodology/approachThe TQM model for the OGD initiatives (16 dimensions in terms of drivers, enablers and results) is derived from the extant literature on the principles of TQM and OGD. The proposed model is used for drawing implications for the Indian OGD initiative.FindingsThe application of TQM model for the OGD initiative in India would help in quality maintenance and sustainability. The quality of the OGD portal should be improved by taking the TQM model as a point of reference.Practical implicationsEnsuring quality of the datasets is important for any OGD initiative. The proposed TQM model leaves insights for the practitioners (policymakers and administrators) to implement the TQM model in the OGD policy initiatives. This would lead to increased trust, transparency and accountability.Social implicationsThrough the integration of the TQM model in the OGD initiative of the country, a wider section of the stakeholders may tap the qualitatively advanced datasets for value creation. Citizen participation and engagement would increase with the integration of the TQM model in the OGD initiative.Originality/valueWhile management of quality in the OGD initiatives has been underlined in the extant OGD-focused literature, the utility of applying TQM principles in OGD initiatives has not been conceived so far. The present study seeks to contribute towards the extant literature on TQM and OGD with the identification of the TQM model for the OGD initiatives.

Asymmetric Open Government Data (OGD) framework in India

PurposeWith the ongoing drives towards Open Government Data (OGD) initiatives across the globe, governments have been keen on pursuing their OGD policies to ensure transparency, collaboration and efficiency in administration. As a developing country, India has recently adopted the OGD policy (www.data.gov.in); however, the percolation of this policy in the States has remained slow. This paper aims to underpin the “asymmetry” in OGD framework as far as the Indian States are concerned. Besides, the study also assesses the contribution of “Open Citizens” in furthering the OGD initiatives of the country.Design/methodology/approachAn exploratory qualitative following a case study approach informs the present study using documentary analysis where evidentiary support from five Indian States (Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, West Bengal, Sikkim and Gujarat) is being drawn to assess the nature and scope of the OGD framework. Further, conceptualization for “Open Citizen” framework is provided to emphasize upon the need to have aware, informed and pro-active citizens to spearhead the OGD initiatives in the country.FindingsWhile the National OGD portal has a substantial number of data sets across different sectors, the States are lagging behind in the adoption and implementation of OGD policies, and while Telangana and Sikkim have been the frontrunners in adoption of OGD policies in a rudimentary manner, others are yet to catch up with them. Further, there is “asymmetry” in terms of the individual contribution of the government bodies to the open data sets where some government bodies are more reluctant to share their datasets than the others.Practical implicationsIt is the conclusion of the study that governments need to institutionalize the OGD framework in the country, and all the States should appreciate the requirement of adopting a robust OGD policy for furthering transparency, collaboration and efficiency in administration.Social implicationsAs an “Open Citizen”, it behooves upon the citizens to be pro-active and contribute towards the open data sets which would go a long way in deriving social and economic value out of these data sets.Originality/valueWhile there are many studies on OGD in the West, studies focused upon the developing countries are starkly lacking. This study plugs this gap by attempting a comparative analysis of the OGD frameworks across Indian States. Besides, the study has provided a conceptualization of “Open Citizen” (OGD) which may be tapped for further research in developing and developed countries to ascertain the linkage between OGD and OC.

The impact of open government data on accountability and transparency

PurposeAccountability, citizen participation and transparency are the three pillars on which open government data (OGD) is based. As such, OGD implies that the government shall provide data freely via the internet so that the same may be re-used for diverse purposes. It is hoped that by re-using government data, public value shall be co-created and government services might be improved upon with the involvement of different stakeholders. The purpose of this paper is to underline the impact of OGD on accountability and transparency in the context of Pakistan where OGD initiative is taking roots for quite some time now. In the present study, the authors seek to investigate the challenges being faced by the professionals in the private sector and nongovernment organizations (NGOs) in Pakistan. Besides, the authors also seek inputs from the respondents in the manner in which OGD initiative of Pakistan has impact on ensuring accountability and transparency.Design/methodology/approachFor conducting the review of the national OGD portal of Pakistan, the authors invoke documentary analysis wherein the authors investigate the features of the national OGD portal of Pakistan. Furthermore, the authors conducted structured interviews with 49 senior management representatives from private sector and NGOs in order to gauge the challenges encountered by them in tapping OGD from diverse online public sources.FindingsRespondents aver that robust statistical analysis is not feasible via the data sets being shared by the online sources. More initiatives are required on the part of the government bodies to release the data sets which have remained confined in silos. Government should institutionalize an OGD policy and promote the re-use of OGD by the professionals from diverse backgrounds. At present, only educational data are being shared by the OGD portal of Pakistan and it is important that more data sets are being released in the public domain. Furthermore, the respondents perceive that in a bid to be more accountable and transparent, the government bodies should release data sets via the online channels which are user-friendly.Research limitations/implicationsThe present study conducted a qualitative research where the number of respondents was relatively less. Further research is required by adopting quantitative approach in order to accommodate more respondents and lend reliability to the study. Nevertheless, the study holds implications for academicians and practitioners in the sense that while it is needed that further research be conducted on the OGD initiative of Pakistan, it is imperative that policy makers get involved in institutionalizing the OGD initiative of Pakistan at national and local levels.Social implicationsProfessionals might be better involved in creating and co-creating products and services by tapping OGD.Originality/valueGiven that OGD initiative in Pakistan is in a nascent stage and research is wanting in exploring the nature and scope of Pakistan’s OGD, the present study seeks to contribute toward the existing OGD literature.

Open Government Data (OGD) in Iran, Lebanon and Jordan: a comparative approach

PurposeThe main aim of this study is to do a comparison of Open Government Data (OGD) frameworks in Iran, Lebanon and Jordan and underscore the prospects and challenges in OGD implementation.Design/methodology/approachBasing itself on two OGD models offered by Kalampokis and his colleagues (Kalampokis et al., 2011) and Sieber and Johnson (2015) and the typology of “good” and “bad” data based on factors such as “usability”, “findability” and “understandability”, the study uses a documentary analysis for generating evidences by scanning the websites linked with OGD across the three countries. Following a qualitative methodology, countries shall be classified in terms of these models and the typology depending upon their OGD nature and scope.FindingsOGD adoption in Iran, Lebanon and Jordan is at a nascent stage, and the OGD nature is of the “bad” type. These countries have merely “aggregated data” over their Web interfaces which are incomplete, outdated and do not permit analytics. Besides, there are a number of challenges which need to be overcome for proper OGD adherence. Nevertheless, there are a lot of prospects for harnessing OGD for improved citizen–government interaction by creating a culture of transparency, collaboration and accountability.Practical implicationsThe study holds immense significance for government bodies to appreciate the potential of OGD which would go a long way to add social and economic value to propel the country’s growth.Originality/valueNo study has been conducted so far which compares Iran, Lebanon and Jordan in terms of their OGD policies; this is the main contribution of the study. Also, conceding the significance of the three countries in terms of their socio-economic indices, academic research is warranted in relation to these countries.

The role of policy entrepreneurs in open government data policy innovation diffusion: An analysis of Australian Federal and State Governments

Open government data (OGD) policy differs substantially from the existing Freedom of Information policies. Consequently OGD can be viewed as a policy innovation. Drawing on both innovation diffusion theory and its application to public policy innovation research, we examine Australia's OGD policy diffusion patterns at both the federal and state government levels based on the policy adoption timing and CKAN portal “Organization” and “Category” statistics. We found that state governments that had adopted OGD policies earlier had active policy entrepreneurs (or lead departments/agencies) responsible for the policy innovation diffusion across the different government departments. We also found that their efficacy ranking was relatively high in terms of OGD portal openness when openness is measured by the greater number of datasets proactively and systematically published through their OGD portals. These findings have important implications for the role played by OGD policy entrepreneurs in openly sharing the government-owned datasets with the public.

Significance of open government data in the GCC countries

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to review the strengths and weaknesses of open government data (OGD) in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states: Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).Design/methodology/approachThe paper takes a qualitative approach to explore the OGD portals of the GCC countries.FindingsThe OGD policies of the GCC countries are at an early stage and there are many challenges that need to be addressed. Specifically, there are privacy concerns regarding the utilization and harnessing of OGD, and users are wary of sharing their vital information via the internet owing to information leaks. Besides, the paper throws light on some of the lessons which may be derived from the OGD policies of developed nations.Originality/valueAcademic research on OGD implementation in the GCC is limited. This study seeks to fill the gap in the extant literature by probing different dimensions associated with OGD implementation in the GCC context.

The Daily Shaping of State Transparency: Standards, Machine-Readability and the Configuration of Open Government Data Policies

While many governments are now committed to release Open Government Data under non-proprietarystandardized formats, less attention has been given to the actual consequences of these standardsfor knowledge workers. Unpacking the history of three open data standards (CSV, GTFS, IATI), thispaper shows what is actually happening when these standards are enacted in the work practices ofbureaucracies. It is built on participant-observer enquiry and interviews focussed on the back rooms ofopen data, and looking specifi cally at the invisible work necessary to construct open datasets. It showsthat the adoption of open standards is increasingly becoming an indicator of the advancement of opendata programmes. Enacting open standards involves much more than simple technical operations, itoperates a quiet and localised transformation of bureaucracies, in which the decisions of data workershave substantive consequences for how the open government data and transparency agendas areperformed.Keywords: Open Government Data; Open Standards; Enactment; Infrastructure Studies; DataAssemblages