Article: A FAIR measurement of governments' social media Journal: International Journal of Public Sector Performance Management (IJPSPM) 2026 Vol.17 No.3 pp.311 - 332 Abstract: Governments consistently invest in new communication platforms based on citizen-driven principles, including social media (SM). Consequently, their success must be measured to ensure that both the government and the citizens receive the value of the investment. However, measuring the success of governmental SM communication has generated debate among scholars. To address this, we develop a measurement framework by synthesising established metrics from prior studies using the PRISMA approach. From 13 eligible papers, we select four metrics, namely fans, activity, interactions, and responsiveness (FAIR), which respectively determine whether a government SM account can disseminate information to its citizens, how active the account is in communicating with its citizens daily, whether the content can engage citizens by providing information of public interest, and whether government administrators can improve democratic governance by promoting public-government dialogue and encouraging public feedback. Using comprehensive FAIR metrics, the success of the government's digital communication is measured from all aspects. Consequently, each governmental organisation is represented fairly. Inderscience Publishers - linking academia, business and industry through research

Title: A FAIR measurement of governments' social media

Authors: Brian Alafwan; Manahan Siallagan; Utomo Sarjono Putro

Addresses: School of Business and Management, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Indonesia ' School of Business and Management, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Indonesia ' School of Business and Management, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Indonesia

Abstract: Governments consistently invest in new communication platforms based on citizen-driven principles, including social media (SM). Consequently, their success must be measured to ensure that both the government and the citizens receive the value of the investment. However, measuring the success of governmental SM communication has generated debate among scholars. To address this, we develop a measurement framework by synthesising established metrics from prior studies using the PRISMA approach. From 13 eligible papers, we select four metrics, namely fans, activity, interactions, and responsiveness (FAIR), which respectively determine whether a government SM account can disseminate information to its citizens, how active the account is in communicating with its citizens daily, whether the content can engage citizens by providing information of public interest, and whether government administrators can improve democratic governance by promoting public-government dialogue and encouraging public feedback. Using comprehensive FAIR metrics, the success of the government's digital communication is measured from all aspects. Consequently, each governmental organisation is represented fairly.

Keywords: social media measurement; digital government; digital communication; new media; public sector; PRISMA approach; systematic literature review.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPSPM.2026.152786

International Journal of Public Sector Performance Management, 2026 Vol.17 No.3, pp.311 - 332

Received: 09 May 2022
Received in revised form: 15 Nov 2022
Accepted: 16 Dec 2022
Published online: 13 Apr 2026 *

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Title: A FAIR measurement of governments' social media

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