Title: The use of Facebook by local authorities: a comparative analysis of the USA, UK and Spain

Authors: F. Javier Miranda; Antonio Chamorro; Sergio Rubio

Addresses: Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Empresariales, Universidad de Extremadura, Avda. Elvas, s/n, 06071-Badajoz, Spain ' Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Empresariales, Universidad de Extremadura, Avda. Elvas, s/n, 06071-Badajoz, Spain ' Escuela de Ingenierías Industriales, Universidad de Extremadura, Avda. Elvas, s/n, 06071-Badajoz, Spain

Abstract: The social networks have increased the ways in which public administrations can actively interact with the public. However, these new means of communication are not always used efficiently to create an open and two-way relationship. The purpose of this study is to analyse the presence on and use of the social network Facebook by the large councils in the USA, UK and Spain. This research adapts Facebook assessment index (FAI) to the field of local authorities. This index assesses three dimensions: popularity, content and interactivity. The results show that there is no relationship between the population of the municipality and the degree of use of Facebook by the council, but there are notable differences depending on the country. By creating this ranking, we are helping those responsible for this management to carry out benchmarking activities in order to improve their communication strategy on the social networks.

Keywords: social networks sites; Facebook; e-government; local government; social networks.

DOI: 10.1504/EG.2018.090927

Electronic Government, an International Journal, 2018 Vol.14 No.2, pp.200 - 216

Received: 16 Mar 2017
Accepted: 25 Sep 2017
Published online: 03 Apr 2018 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article