E-Government Services and Social Media Adoption: Experience of Small Local Governments in Nebraska

Abstract

Considering that social media as new tools complement existing e-government services, it is necessary to understand what types of e-government service better fit with different social media tools. However, the roles of e-government services in the adoption of social media in government are understudied. Moreover, little is known about social media use in small local governments. This research addresses these research gaps by exploring the relationship between different types of e-government service and social media adoption by small local governments. It also explores how these small local governments use social media. Drawing from e-government and social media literature, it offers hypotheses by focusing on the relationship between e-government service characteristics and the adoption of Facebook and Twitter in the context of small local government. Using original survey and census data of local governments in Nebraska, it finds that transaction services are associated with the adoption of Facebook while information services are related to the adoption of Twitter.