Public value creation using social media applications for the local government context: a pilot case study

Abstract

Social media applications are receiving growing attention from local government agencies as they have the potential to offer public values to those agencies as well as providing benefits to citizens by enhancing public engagement and innovating public services. Despite the growth in the literature on social media, there is still limited understanding on how public value is created through the use of various social media applications in local government context. To address this concern, we have developed a model to investigate public value creation using social media applications. The model is evaluated using a pilot case study at a large Saudi Arabian municipality. The model and empirical evidence together contribute towards establishing a theoretical foundation for research into the impact of social media applications for public value creation. In addition, council managers can learn useful lessons drawing on our findings on how best utilise social media applications for local government matters.