Work

Understanding the Determinants of Digital Innovation in California Local Governments: Digital Inequality and Agency Assignment Perspectives

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: Many local governments have adopted digital innovations and advanced technologies, including Artificial Intelligence, the Internet of things, and big data to address unprecedented problems, improve the processes and procedures of their services, and enhance citizen engagement. Yet, there are considerable variations in the adoption of digital innovation among local communities, and such variations lead to inequality in access to digital technologies among individuals, households, and other groups of different demographic and socioeconomic levels. Drawing on insights from institutional theory, this study examines whether community wealth, education level, and the presence of an independent IT department matter for a city's level of engagement with digital innovation and technologies. It examines a dataset obtained from the 2023 Local Digital innovation Survey with California city governments. A set of logistic regression analyses provide evidence that community wealth/education and independent IT departments play significant roles in influencing California city governments’ level of engagement with digital innovation and technologies.

Source: Digital Government Research and Practice

DOI: 10.1145/3689369

Authors: Myungjung Kwon, Eunmi Lee, Sounman Hong, Soon Ae Chun

Institutions: California State University, Fullerton, Kookmin University, Yonsei University, College of Staten Island, City University of New York

Language: English

Topic: E-Government and Public Services

Subfield: Political Science and International Relations

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Reduced inequalities, Industry, innovation and infrastructure, Sustainable cities and communities

Open Access status: hybrid

Funders: Ministry of Education, National Research Foundation of Korea, California State University, Fullerton