The impact of government form on e-participation: A study of New Jersey municipalities

Yueping Zheng, Hindy Lauer Schachter, Marc Holzer

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

67 Scopus citations

Abstract

During the past two decades, governments have started to use information and communication technologies (ICT) to offer a new forum for citizen involvement known as e-participation. The rapid development of e-participation has been attracting attention from many researchers. While a growing body of research has explored various factors impacting e-participation, few studies have examined the influence of government structures on the e-participation opportunities that jurisdictions offer users. To fill the research gap and begin investigating this relationship, we use data from 97 New Jersey municipalities to analyze the impact on e-participation of three local government structures: mayor-council, council-manager, and township. The results show that municipalities with the mayor-council form of government are more likely to have higher levels of e-participation offerings. We argue that the role of an elected executive in this structure facilitates the will to provide greater opportunities for citizens to participate online.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)653-659
Number of pages7
JournalGovernment Information Quarterly
Volume31
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - 2014

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Sociology and Political Science
  • Library and Information Sciences
  • Law

Keywords

  • Government structure
  • Municipalities
  • New Jersey
  • e-Participation

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'The impact of government form on e-participation: A study of New Jersey municipalities'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this