Social media in Chinese government: Drivers, challenges and capabilities

doi:10.1016/j.giq.2013.05.017

Government Information Quarterly

Volume 30, Issue 4, October 2013, Pages 369-376

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2013.05.017 Get rights and content

Abstract

By the end of 2012, Chinese microblogging accounts had reached 309 million. Among them, over 176,000 accounts were opened and managed by Chinese government agencies, as new channels to disclose government information provide public services and interact with citizens. This study investigates the external drivers and challenges that Chinese government agencies are faced with and the internal capabilities of Chinese government agencies in using social media. The study further discusses the relationship and dynamics between the external environment and internal capabilities of Chinese government agencies in using social media. Based on the findings, the paper provides some recommendations to government agencies in China and other countries faced with similar challenges.

Introduction

Since 2009, China has witnessed a boom in social media, especially microblogging. By the end of December 2012, the total number of Chinese microblogging users had reached 309 million, representing a growth rate of 23.5% over the end of 2011. Consequently, the fashion of receiving and disseminating information in society has been dramatically transformed.

Microblogging is a broadcast medium in the form of blogging. It differs from traditional blog in its content that is typically smaller in both actual and aggregate file sizes. It “allows users to exchange small elements of content such as short sentences, individual images, or video links” (Wikipedia, 2013). Some popular microblogging services include Twitter, Tumblr, FriendFeed, Plurk etc.

However, foreign microblogging services like Twitter and Plurk are blocked in China. Instead, Chinese microblogging users use Weibo, which is the Chinese word for “microblogging”. Weibo services are like hybrids of Twitter and Facebook and use a format similar to twitter with key difference in that it is used almost exclusively by Chinese language speakers (Wikipedia, 2013). The two most popular Weibo services in China are Sina Weibo, launched by SINA Corporation in August 2009 and Tencent Weibo launched by Tencent in April, 2010.

The pervasiveness of microblogging among citizens and business in China has also urged government agencies to launch government microblogs to disclose government information, provide public services and foster interactions between government and citizens. Since 2010, thousands of government microblogging accounts have been opened by Chinese government agencies. According to the Chinese Government Microblogging Assessment Report (China National Academy of Governance, 2011), the total number of Chinese government microblogging accounts has exceeded 176 thousand by the end of 2012.

What factors have driven Chinese government agencies to use microblogging? What kind of challenges are they faced with? Are they capable of using this new tool to interact with citizens? This study investigates the external drivers and challenges that Chinese government agencies are faced with and the internal capabilities of Chinese government agencies in using social media. The study further discusses the relationship and dynamics between the external environment and internal capabilities of Chinese government agencies in using social media. Based on the findings, the paper also makes some policy recommendations to government agencies in China and other countries facing similar challenges.

Section snippets

Literature review

A number of studies have investigated the challenges, issues and problems around government use of social media. The Center for Technology in Government (2009) identifies the issues, concerns, and challenges that government agencies are faced with in social media use. These issues and concerns include resources, legal and regulatory ramifications, governance, making a business case, security, accessibility, perception, and information overload. Human Capital Institute (2010) investigates the

Research methods

The study took a qualitative and inductive approach to study the drivers, challenges and capabilities of the Chinese government in use of microblogging. Specifically, the research questions are as follows. First, what particular external drivers and challenges are Chinese government agencies faced with in using microblogging? Second, are Chinese government agencies capable of taking advantage of microblogging? Third, what is the relationship and dynamics between the external environment and the

External drivers

The study finds a number of external drivers for Chinese government agencies to run microblogging. They are elaborated as follows:

Society: open and networked

The analysis of the external factors indicates that thanks to advanced IT devices and social media applications, rising citizen participation and international influences, Chinese citizens now enjoy relatively more freedom in receiving and spreading information than they can in the past when the government exercised tight control over information access and flow through dominating mass media. Thus, social media applications have shifted the information access and flow to some extent, in China

Recommendations

Based on the analysis above, the paper makes some recommendations to government in China and other countries faced with similar challenges. First of all, government agencies need to enhance their organizational capabilities to fit with the external environment in social media age. Specifically, government agencies should take a systematic strategy to transform institutional structures, decentralize power, streamline process, change organizational culture, and enhance collaboration across

Conclusions and directions for future studies

This paper examines the external drivers and challenges that Chinese government institutions are faced with when using social media and also explores internal capabilities of Chinese government agencies in using microblogging. Future studies could take a quantitative approach to test the correlation between the influencing factors identified in this study and the performance of government microblogging. Moreover, this research collects data only from participants in Shanghai at Municipal level

Acknowledgment

This research is funded by the Shanghai Pujiang Personnel Plan and the Shanghai Education Committee Research Innovation Project.

Lei Zheng is an Assistant Professor at the School of International Relations and Public Affairs and the Director of Digital and Mobile Governance Lab at Fudan University located in Shanghai, China. His research interests cover a wide range of topics in e-governance including cross-boundary information sharing, social media in government, open government, e-government readiness assessment, comparative and transnational studies in e-government. Lei Zheng received his Ph.D. in Public

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View full text

Social media in Chinese government: Drivers, challenges and capabilities

Abstract

Introduction

Section snippets

Literature review

Research methods

External drivers

Society: open and networked

Recommendations

Conclusions and directions for future studies

Acknowledgment

Government Information Quarterly

Government Information Quarterly

Government Information Quarterly

Government Information Quarterly

Cost of democratization: Social media adaption challenges within government agencies

Administrative Theory and Praxis

Exploratory Social Media Project Phase I: Identifying benefits and concerns surrounding use of social media in government

The grounded theory methods: An explication and interpretation

The 31st statistical report on the internet development in China

Chinese government microblogging assessment report

Government microblogs in China: Status, problems and recommendations

Journal of Party and Government Personnel

Cool thoughts in a hot tide: Analysis on the problems and recommendations of government microblogs

International Communication