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theses

The importance of citizen participation has been widely accepted. However, for several reasons, the participation level has been decreasing during the past decades. The limitation of traditional participation makes it difficult to save it from eroding. With the rapid development of information technologies and their wide usage in private sectors for interacting with customers, governments began to use ICT tools to provide convenient ways for citizens to participate, which resulted in the rise of e-participation. The rise of e-participation, however, cannot cover its problem of imbalance. Great differences exist in government performance in e-participation both at the municipal and national levels. Comprehensive and convenient ways have been provided by some governments to actively engage citizens, while others have not followed suit. The following research question focuses on why such differences exist. Researchers tried to explain the determinants of e-participation diffusion and explore the factors influencing e-participation adoption and usage. Roles of political culture and orientation, infrastructure, transparency, etc., have been examined and tested. Still, a research gap exists in that government capacity and willingness have been missed. Government capacity is the foundation for governments to perform well and achieve their goals. Without the necessary capacity to serve as a reasonable base, it’s difficult for governments to adopt e-participation initiatives. Government willingness is the “pushing factor” in e-participation usage. Whether governments have the willingness to adopt and develop e-participation initiatives determines to what extent governments would like to allocate their resources to e-participation. So, in this study, I would like to test the impact of government capacity and willingness on e-participation. With data from municipal managers/business administrators in New Jersey, this study found that government capacity and willingness have a significant impact on e-participation performance. Governments, which have a higher level of capacity (technical capacity, financial capacity, administrative capacity, and political capacity), are more likely to perform better in e-participation initiatives. Government willingness is also a determinant to e-participation development. For governments with more willingness to involve their citizens in the running and use of information technologies, they are more likely to have a higher level of e-participation among citizens. This study, to some extent, fills the research gap in e-participation and contributes to the e-participation literature. With the data from municipalities in New Jersey, this research confirms the impact of government capacity and willingness on e-participation performance at the municipal level. Four dimensions of government capacity and two aspects of government willingness could influence e-participation directly or indirectly. The positive relationships between government capacity and willingness have been examined as well. The model proposed in this study and the findings will help to increase understanding of the phenomenon of e-participation diffusion and the determinants of e-participation development at the municipal level in New Jersey.

ETD_6508

Ph.D.

Includes bibliographical references

by Yueping Zheng

doi:10.7282/T3GB25XT

ETD doctoral

The author owns the copyright to this work.