Proposing a framework of barriers to opening government data in China. A critical literature review

Published date18 September 2017
Pages421-438
Date18 September 2017
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/LHT-01-2017-0014
AuthorRuhua Huang,Tong Lai,Lihong Zhou
Subject MatterLibrary & information science,Librarianship/library management,Library technology,Information behaviour & retrieval,Information user studies,Metadata,Information & knowledge management,Information & communications technology,Internet
Proposing a framework of
barriers to opening government
data in China
A critical literature review
Ruhua Huang, Tong Lai and Lihong Zhou
School of Information Management, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
Abstract
Purpose This paper reports on a critical literature review, which aimed to identify, understand and qualify
barriers that hinder the release of open government data (OGD) in China. Moreover, the purposeof this paper
is to develop and propose a theoretical framework,which can be adopted as a basis for empirical investigation
in the future, and to articulate mitigating strategies.
Design/methodology/approach This study adopted an inductive qualitative approach, retrieving 42
academic articles from three main Chinese academic databases: CNKI, Wanfang and CQVIP. A thematic
analysis approach was employed for the literature analysis.
Findings The literature analysis pointed to 15 barriers to the release of OGD in China. Furthermore, the
barriers emerged in the following three main themes: institutionalbarriers, data integrity and quality barriers,
and user participation barriers.
Originality/value This paper reports on one of the early research efforts into the problems of releasing
OGD in China. Although this study focusses on Chinese context and issues, the findings and lessons learnt
can be shared across international borders.
Keywords Barriers, Literature review, Open government, Open government data, Theoretical framework,
Chinese Government
Paper type Literature review
1. Introduction
Releasing open government data (OGD) has become a global phenomenon. It has been
universally recognised and accepted that OGD can not only accelerate the development of
innovative technologies and applications in the creative industry, but also substantially promote
the economic growth and contribute to the creation of sustainable economies (Borzacchiello and
Craglia, 2012; Janssen et al., 2012; Conradie and Choenni, 2014; Jetzek et al., 2014).
In addition, it is widely believed that OGD can profoundly change the existing models for
the government operation by increasing individual participation and transparency
(McDermott, 2010; Bertot et al., 2010; Conradie and Choenni, 2014), as well as by effectively
reducing corruption (Attard et al., 2015; Jetzek et al., 2014). Janssen (2011) claims that,
by allowing and encouraging individual citizens to participate in the political decision-
making process, OGD leads to more trust and support in government, as well as better
acceptance of political decisions.
For these obvious benefits, countries around the world have begun to explore
and experiment releasing OGD in recent years and have received very positive results
(Attard et al., 2015). Jetzek et al. (2014) state that, in 2009-2013, the number of OGD initiatives
has grown from merely 2 to more than 300. By 2013, over 280 government data catalogues
have been opened and published, while more than a million data sets have been released by
governments around the world ( Jetzek et al., 2014).
Library Hi Tech
Vol. 35 No. 3, 2017
pp. 421-438
© Emerald PublishingLimited
0737-8831
DOI 10.1108/LHT-01-2017-0014
Received 19 January 2017
Revised 13 April 2017
Accepted 25 May 2017
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0737-8831.htm
The research is sponsored by the project supported by the National Social Science Foundation of China
(Grant No. 15ZDC025).
421
Proposing a
framework of
barriers
The Chinese Central Government has also made a commitment to opening government
data, which has appeared repeatedly and has been reinforced in the public speeches made
by Chairman Jinping Xi and Premier Keqiang Li (The State Council of the Peoples Republic
of China, 2016b). Moreover, the OGD commitment appeared in a number of high-level
political decisions and reports. For instance, as noted in the 13th Five-Year Planning Report
(2016-2020), which is the national steering report issued by the State Council, all levels of
government in all regions in China should always endeavour and give priority to opening
and sharing government data(The State Council of the Peoples Republic of China, 2016a).
The OGD commitment of the Chinese Government received strong support from a large
number of scholars in China. Shen and Xu (2014) claim that OGD enables mutual interaction
between the government and individual citizens. It is largely different from the traditional
government-centric model, determining that people are expected to follow governments
instructions and that peoples voices may not always be heard by the government.
Chen et al. (2015) assert that OGD benefits not only scientific research and economic
development, but also social justice, equality and government transparency. Hu (2015)
proposes that if the government is truthfully committed to OGD, the released data should be
real, unaltered, non-fabricated and untouched. Xia (2016) argues that OGD is an important
driver for democratic development and government inclusiveness.
Currently, more than 15 major cities in China have launched OGD portals (Zheng and
Gao, 2015; Huang and Zhang, 2015; Huang and Wang, 2016; Cao, 2016). Some cities
(e.g. Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Wuhan and Guiyang) even claimed that open
data ecosystems have been formulated based on the OGD released. In these open
data ecosystems, people can freely download, share, use and build on OGD. For instance,
Wuhan, the capital city of Hubei Province located in central China, released approximately
2,000 data sets on the Wuhan Government Open Data Portal. People can download all of
these data sets and freely design, upload, share and download web and mobile applications.
By November 2016, 70 applications were available on the OGD portal and could be
downloaded for free. The following applications were the most popular and downloaded
ones: Intelligent Public Transportation,Wuhan Social Welfareand Wuhan Traffic
Police, which were downloaded 4,721, 1,615 and 1,612 times, respectively.
Nevertheless and despite frequent commendation on national and regional media, many
Chinese academics voiced their viewpoints, concerns and criticisms. Zheng and Gao (2015)
point out that OGD in China is, in fact, underutilised. Yue and Liu (2016) assert that the main
causes of OGD underutilisation are the lack of high-quality open data collections and the
lack of effective and convenient data sharing channels. Di (2016b) warns that the
government should be more careful in protecting the privacy of individual citizens.
However, these academic works did not truly raise public awareness and concerns. In truth,
it is perceived that OGD does not seem to be closely related to peoples daily lives.
One incidentthat occurred in Wuhan helped to draw publicattention and awareness to the
value and importance of OGD. In July2016, Wuhan was stricken with heavyrainfall and with
one of the most intense storms in the past 18 years. The storm caused severe waterlogging
and flooding in the city; more than 860,000 people were affected, and the direct economic
losses were approximately 2.265 billionYuan. People in Wuhan were extremely disappointed
and devastated.These feelings were not dueto the survival and financial crisesresulting from
the extreme weather. Instead, the people were upset because, in 2013, the city government
invested 13 billionCNY (approximately US$2 billion)in improving the citys sewerage system.
The city governmentpromised that the projectwould protect the city fromany flooding likely
to occur in the next 50 years. The project was completed in 2016, right before the storm.
A university student decided not to stay silent. She wrote a letter to the Mayor of Wuhan
City, asking for the financial data to be released to the public. She disclosed her
correspondence online and soon received an unprecedented amount of online support.
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