Understanding different levels of e-participation in Spanish municipalities based on city and citizen profiles

Abstract

Purpose – Our study focuses on analysing the e-Participation channels offered by the Spanish local governments (SLGs) to determine the various e-Participation models adopted and to assess whether these models are influenced by the characteristics of both the cities and the citizens. Design/methodology/approach – We analysed the official websites of SLGs using a participation steps framework based on Arnstein’s ladder of citizen participation. Our study aims to assess how city profiles influence the adoption of participation management models by municipal governments, employing cluster analysis and tests of differences. Findings – In this sense, one of the main findings is that the largest municipalities, which are considered smart cities, tend to have more developed participation models. Additionally, these cities are mainly characterized by having a high population density and citizens with high educational levels. Practical implications – Politicians and public managersshould implement open government projects, offering interactive participation tools that promote collaboration and co-creation initiatives. In addition, our findings seem to confirm the use of information and communication technology by policymakers to increase the legitimacy of public actions, but they do not ultimately delegate any power to the citizenry. Originality/value – There is no previous evidence about different implementation models of e-Participation in the urban context or the influence of contextual factors (city profile and/or citizen profile) on these different models, which could be very relevant for explaining how politicians and public managers are designing public policies to create various open and collaborative models of cities.