Papers by Raphael Zumofen
e-Proceedings of the 2022 NISPAcee conference, 2022
Research has shown the potential of social media to disseminate important information as well as ... more Research has shown the potential of social media to disseminate important information as well as transforming citizen engagement with government. However, implementation remains difficult, especially in public sector organizations. The success, impact, and performance of these new forms of networked interactions are yet to be fully explored, especially at the local level. Many municipalities are still experimenting with the use of social media, and few actively measure their performance on these platforms, as well as their digital interactions with the users. Different models or frameworks have been proposed to describe the types of government communication and activity on social media. They are addressed in this conference paper through three different phases, which refer to forms of government-citizen communication on social media. The original assessment method developed here contributes to the existing literature and provides guidance to practitioners. Empirically, our research relies on a database of cities that have between 100,000 and 500,000 inhabitants in European Union member states located in Central and Eastern Europe. It provides social media metrics for all cities included in our sample (N=82) and compares various indicators on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, thereby contributing to better assess how social media platforms are used by local governments in the region.
Transforming Government: People, Process and Policy
Purpose This paper aims to explain the impacts of the ongoing digitization reform in Benin. It de... more Purpose This paper aims to explain the impacts of the ongoing digitization reform in Benin. It demonstrates that a well-conducted reform can reduce corruption, improve performance and bring citizens closer to the administration. It also highlights the elements needed to ensure the success of such a reform. Design/methodology/approach The impacts of the digitization of services and processes on both administrative structures and accountability mechanisms are described and discussed through the analysis of interviews conducted with government officials and key external stakeholders. Findings Findings indicate that the implementation of new technologies has created difficulties for public servants and that reaching out to the entire population is still proving challenging. However, the reform has helped prevent abuses and corruption in management, and it has raised hopes of improving the state–citizen relationship in the long run. Originality/value This paper adds to the research on di...
In contemporary society, accountability and performance have obtained a new status of golden conc... more In contemporary society, accountability and performance have obtained a new status of golden concepts. While accountability has expanded and diversified, performance worries have become more prevalent guiding policies towards the reinforcement of the first concept to stimulate the latter. It is thus worth questioning the normative assumption that more accountability is necessarily “good” by asking whether there is a danger of too much accountability or too many accountability relationships. In order to make it work, it seems that accountability has to dealt with under certain circumstances and with specific managerial and strategic processes. The objective of this article is to redefine the accountability process in strategic and managerial way in order for it to contribute positively to performance. This paper will first look at accountability on the conceptual side, going through the various traditional models. It will then detail the managerial and strategic aspects too often for...
Droits d’auteur L'Université de Lausanne attire expressément l'attention des utilisateurs... more Droits d’auteur L'Université de Lausanne attire expressément l'attention des utilisateurs sur le fait que tous les documents publiés dans l'Archive SERVAL sont protégés par le droit d'auteur, conformément à la loi fédérale sur le droit d'auteur et les droits voisins (LDA). A ce titre, il est indispensable d'obtenir le consentement préalable de l'auteur et/ou de l’éditeur avant toute utilisation d'une oeuvre ou d'une partie d'une oeuvre ne relevant pas d'une utilisation à des fins personnelles au sens de la LDA (art. 19, al. 1 lettre a). A défaut, tout contrevenant s'expose aux sanctions prévues par cette loi. Nous déclinons toute responsabilité en la matière.
Information Polity, 2021
While a vast majority of local governments in Europe are communicating on social media, the situa... more While a vast majority of local governments in Europe are communicating on social media, the situation differs in few states. Although Switzerland is often depicted as a technological advanced and innovative country, cities are still largely resisting the temptation to share information on social media platforms. In this study, we rely on a survey distributed to the communication managers of all cities over 10,000 inhabitants in Switzerland to uncover the reasons explaining this behavior. This approach is preferred to understand what motivates or prevents cities from communicating on social media, focusing mainly on perceptions of risks related to these platforms. Results indicate that some factors identified in the literature on public sector organizations slow down the social media adoption and usage at the local level; but interestingly, the conservative approach to social media preferred by numerous cities also plays a major role in explaining cities’ absence on these platforms.
Public Works Management & Policy, 2020
This article assesses the links between accountability and transparency in the case of the public... more This article assesses the links between accountability and transparency in the case of the public procurement system in Switzerland. It focuses on the relationship between the two concepts through the prism of the theoretical frameworks developed by previous authors, using data gathered through experts’ interviews. Findings demonstrate that the relationship can be bidirectional and highlight the importance of both the nature and the quality of information. It also redefines the various ways around which transparency and accountability interrelate by extending the previous contributions on the matter. It especially points out that transparency and accountability can be more easily implemented together with proactive dissemination of information. At the same time, mechanisms of control should also exist to ensure more accountable governmental organizations. In this sense, all experts insist on the necessity to keep efficient surveillance bodies in place.
Public Policy and Administration, 2016
Accountability and transparency are of growing importance in contemporary governance. The academi... more Accountability and transparency are of growing importance in contemporary governance. The academic literature has broadly studied the two concepts separately, defining and redefining them, putting them into various frameworks, and sometimes mistakenly using them as synonyms. Curiously, the relationship between the two concepts has been studied only by a few scholars with preliminary approaches. This theoretical article focuses on both concepts, attempting first to describe them, taking into account the various evolutions in the literature and recent developments, and also the first attempts to link the two concepts. In order to show a new approach linking the concepts, theoretical situations in which the concepts are linked are portrayed, demonstrating the need to reconsider the relationship between transparency and accountability. Consequently, a new framework amending the most recent approaches is presented, theoretically delimited and exemplified through practical cases.
Adoption of social media platforms by Swiss towns and cities remains timid for the moment. Facebo... more Adoption of social media platforms by Swiss towns and cities remains timid for the moment. Facebook has by far the greatest success, doubtless because it was the first platform available and because its format lends itself well to public communication. Surprisingly, Twitter is used far less, although its format also is well-suited to certain communication needs of cities. Even in cases where a platform is adopted, the low number of followers and/or an absence of activity by the city point to limited enthusiasm for this new communication standard. However, a constant increase can be observed in the number of users of the main platforms, as in the average number of platforms used by towns and cities. This rather slow rate of adoption raises as many questions about the way in which cities communicate as about the usefulness of exploiting these new platforms.
Development in Practice, 2007
In contemporary society, accountability and performance have obtained a new status of golden conc... more In contemporary society, accountability and performance have obtained a new status of golden concepts. While accountability has expanded and diversified, performance worries have become more prevalent guiding policies towards the reinforcement of the first concept to stimulate the latter. It is thus worth questioning the normative assumption that more accountability is necessarily “good” by asking whether there is a danger of too much accountability or too many accountability relationships. In order to make it work, it seems that accountability has to dealt with under certain circumstances and with specific managerial and strategic processes. The objective of this article is to redefine the accountability process in strategic and managerial way in order for it to contribute positively to performance. This paper will first look at accountability on the conceptual side, going through the various traditional models. It will then detail the managerial and strategic aspects too often forgotten while defining the concept. It will then describe the conceptual and practical difficulties encountered by public organization while trying to maximize accountability and performance at the same time. The last part of this paper will suggest a conceptual model based on a new definition and explain each stage of this new model that could be used in a strategic manner by various organizations.
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Papers by Raphael Zumofen