Reaching hard-to-reach people through digital means – Citizens as initiators of co-creation in public services
Purpose: This paper considers the potential of social media for developing public services. The paper approaches social media as a context that can provide information that might otherwise be unattainable. The focus of analysis is on a special hard-to-reach group of marginalized youths who appear to have isolated themselves from society. Design/methodology/approach: The authors answer the question: How can the experiences of socially withdrawn youth as shared on social media be used to enrich the knowledge base relating to the initiation phase of co-creation of public services? The data retrieved from the Finnish discussion forum are analyzed using the combination of unsupervised machine learning and discourse analysis. Findings: The paper contributes by outlining a method that can be applied to identify expertise-by-experience from digital stories shared by marginalized youths. To overcome the challenges of making socially withdrawn youths real contributors to the co-creation of public services, this paper suggests several theoretical and managerial implications. Originality/value: Co-creation assumes an interactive and dynamic relationship where value is created at the nexus of interaction. However, the evidence base for successful co-creation, particularly with digital technology, is limited. This paper fills the gap by providing findings from a case study that investigated how social media discussions can be a stimulus to enrich the knowledge base of the co-creation of public services.
Year of publication: |
2021
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Authors: | Jalonen, Harri ; Kokkola, Jussi ; Laihonen, Harri ; Kirjavainen, Hanna ; Kaartemo, Valtteri ; Vähämaa, Miika |
Published in: |
International Journal of Public Sector Management. - Emerald, ISSN 0951-3558, ZDB-ID 2032073-5. - Vol. 34.2021, 7 (05.08.), p. 799-816
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Publisher: |
Emerald |
Saved in:
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