Examining the complex dynamics of open government: trends, determinants, and impacts

Open government initiatives have been implemented at every level of government around the world in the last decade. These initiatives are fueled by a belief that open government will make governments more transparent, accountable, and collaborative. However, while open government initiatives continue to expand, basic questions remain regarding how this new wave of institutional reform actually impacts the quality of government. To address such ambiguity, this dissertation examines three interrelated research questions that are derived from the framework of the governance model and aim to address the different institutional, organizational, and individual effects of this reform: (1) At the institutional level, how do we conceptualize open government as a means of addressing social problems (e.g., lacking transparency or effectiveness)? (2) At the organizational level, what factors influence an organization’s efforts to implement open government initiatives? (3) At the individual level, can open government initiatives really empower individual users in ways that increase their confidence to participate in public affairs? This dissertation evaluates these questions in three essays which draw on distinct research methods and theoretical lenses, including contingency theory, diffusion of innovation theory, and social cognitive theory. Following the related requirements of Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA), Study 1 consists of a systematic literature review to examine open government research trends and the conceptualization of open government at different levels of government. Study 2, focusing on open government implementation in the context of New Jersey school districts, uses a qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) to identify combinations of determinants that are consistently associated with school district website openness. Study 3 investigates the causal relationship between the core policy tool of open government initiatives—open government data—and individuals’ perceived self-efficacy to examine whether open government initiatives can really strengthen the perception of empowerment. This study includes two online survey experiments, respectively comprising 840 and 960 American adults.Ph.D.Includes bibliographical reference