Networked Co-Production of 311 Services: Investigating the Use of Twitter in Five U.S. Cities

ABSTRACT

Prior studies highlighted the importance of adopting new technologies to co-produce 311 services, yet they failed to provide empirical evidence of the implementation. Taking Twitter as an example, the present study aims to fill the gap by examining the characteristics of actors in five 311 Twitter networks and the relationship between government 311 Twitter accounts and followers. The results demonstrate multiple-group engagement yet low level of connections within a network, with varying response rates of Twitter requests among all five networks. The overall limited Twitter use in 311 systems calls for shared best practices and efficient account promotion efforts.

KEYWORDS:

• 311 Service systems
• co-production
• social network analysis
• Twitter

Acknowledgments

I appreciate the comments of Professor Jeremy Harris Lipschultz and Yu-Che Chen (University of Nebraska at Omaha), and Professor Ali Farazmand (Editor of the journal). An early version of this article was presented at the 2016 ASPA Annual Conference in Seattle, WA, March 18–22.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Xian Gao

Xian Gao is a graduate student of Public Administration at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, USA. She is also a research member of the Global Digital Governance lab (GDG). Her research interests include e-government, e-participation, social media, and collaborative governance.