Comuni 2.0. Un'indagine esplorativa sull'utilizzo dei social media nei Comuni italiani di medie e grandi dimensioni

Purpose: Social media represent a relevant innovation both from a social and an economic point of view, since they provide organizations with several opportunities. In the last years, public sector organizations have started to use these instruments to achieve different purposes such as, for instance, improve communication and involvement of citizens and other stakeholders. The present contribution aims at deepening extant knowledge about the adoption of social media and web 2.0 instruments in the Italian municipalities. This article presents the main results of an explorative study on the diffusion and use of social media, with a focus on social networks, among Italian municipalities of medium and large size, i.e. with more than 15,000 inhabitants. The addressed research questions are: what social media are more frequently adopted and how are they used? What have been the reasons driving their adoption? Have the engagement and investments of Italian municipalities on social media supported the evolution of their e-Government strategies in terms of technological sophistication and interactions with citizens and other stakeholders?. Methodology: This article is mainly based on the results of an explorative study conducted through an on-line questionnaire: 206 municipalities answered it for a redemption rate of 29%. Subsequently, we conducted a qualitative analysis of the social network profiles of the Italian municipalities that had invested more resources in social media. The research adopts the perspective of municipalities which decided to adopt social media as tools useful for the external communication of the policies, services and activities and for the implementation of an effective dialogue and interaction with citizens and local stakeholders, inspired to the e-Democracy. Findings: The research shows that in the last years a large part of municipalities with more than 15,000 inhabitants have recognized the innovative potential of social media. However, if interested in these new technologies, municipalities are very cautious in their investments. Moreover, they generally aim at improving the effectiveness and efficiency of communication processes with their constituents, while the attempts to fully exploit the potential of social media in order to open public discussion and e-Democracy are still rare. Relevance and implications for research and policy/practice: This paper deals with a topic that has only partially been investigated by the existing research. Thus, it aims at contributing to literature on e-Government, e-Democracy and on social media adoption in Public organizations. In doing so, it also has practical implications for policy-making concerning e-Government and in particular the use of social media in the Public Sector.