Closing the Gap or Widening the Divide: The Impacts of Technology‐Enabled Coproduction on Equity in Public Service Delivery

• Published date: 01 November 2020
• Author: Corey Kewei Xu,Tian Tang
• Date: 01 November 2020
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/puar.13222

962 Public Administration Review • No vember | D ecember 2 020

Public Administration Review,

Vol. 80, Iss. 6, pp. 962–975. © 2020 by

The American Society for Public Administration.

DOI: 10.1111/puar.13222.

Corey Kewei Xu†

Tian Tang†

Florida State University

Closing the Gap or Widening the Divide: The Impacts of

Technology-Enabled Coproduction on Equity in Public

Service Delivery

Abstract: This article investigates how 311 systems affect distributional equity in public service delivery. Many local

governments in the United States have adopted interactive 311 platforms to engage citizens in coproduction. Using a

novel household-level data set on 311 service requests and power service restoration in the City of Tallahassee, Florida,

after Hurricane Michael in 2018, the authors examine possible disparities between racial minority groups and

nonminorities in making power service restoration requests via 311. The article further analyzes how coproduction

participation through 311 affects distributional equity in power restoration. The findings show that minority groups

are more likely to utilize these smart technologies to submit requests for essential services after disasters, as they may have

greater needs but less political capital to reach out to the government. Their utilization of e-governance technologies has

helped them gain more attention from the government, which narrows the equity gap in service delivery.

Evidence for Practice

• E-governance technologies provide “digital capital” to historically disadvantaged groups to change the

distributional disparities in public service delivery.

• Since the internet and smartphones have become more prevalent, interactive 311 service platforms supported

by these technologies provide an alternative and convenient channel for disadvantaged citizens to interact

with the government and participate in coproduction.

• Minority groups are more likely to utilize smart technologies to submit service requests when they have

greater needs for specific services.

• By making service requests, minority neighborhoods can obtain faster service delivery, which can narrow the

equity gap in service delivery.

• Increasing minority communities’ awareness and acceptance of e-governance technologies is an important

initial step to facilitate the utilization of this “digital capital.”

In pursuit of smart governance, governments have

adopted various information and communication

technologies (ICTs) over the past two decades. The

rapid diffusion of Web 2.0 and mobile technologies

has provided alternative channels for public agencies

to collaborate with citizens in the production of public

services. This technology-enabled coproduction is also

referred to as “e-governance” (we use these two terms

interchangeably hereafter) (Dawes 2008; Dunleavy

et al. 2006; Meijer 2015; Meijer and Bolívar 2016).

One popular e-governance technology adopted at

the local level is the two-way 311 platform, which

allows citizens to report nonemergency service issues

to governments through a web portal or mobile app.

Compared with traditional 311 hotlines, the web portal

and mobile app allow citizens to make nonemergency

service requests to the government with geocoded

addresses and photos, submit comments, and monitor

the entire process of service delivery (Tang et al. 2019).

These features supported by e-governance

technologies have great potential to transform

the coproduction process (Sorrentino, Sicilia, and

Howlett 2018) First, internet and mobile technologies

enable ubiquitous coproduction from any location

at any time, which can lower coproduction costs

and encourage greater participation (Linders 2012).

Second, government-to-citizen and citizen-to-

citizen interactivity supported by these e-governance

platforms can foster a sense of community among

all stakeholders (Meijer 2011; Sorrentino, Sicilia,

and Howlett 2018). Moreover, the real-time and

location-specific service request information provided

by citizens can help governments improve service

efficiency and effectiveness (Tang et al. 2019).

†Xu and Tang are co–first authors; both authors contributed in

equal shares.

Tian Tang is assistant professor in the

Askew School of Public Administration

and Policy at Florida State University.

Her research studies energy technology

innovation, smart city technologies, and

their impacts on smart and sustainable

governance. Her recent work on

e-governance technologies and smart

governance has been published in

Government Information Quarterly

and the

Journal of Urban Affairs

.

Email: ttang4@fsu.edu

Corey Kewei Xu is a doctoral candidate in

the Askew School of Public Administration

and Policy at Florida State University. His

work focuses on how technology shapes

government decision-making and its impact

on efficiency and equity. His current work

focuses on the role of technology tools in

disaster recovery.

Email: kx16@my.fsu.edu

Research

Symposium:

Transformation

of Government in

the Era of Smart

Technology