The digital communication tools and citizens' relationship with local governments: a comparison of Georgian and Polish cities
| Author | Maia Maziashvili,Agnieszka Pleśniak,Izabela Kowalik |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/00208523221079746 |
| Published date | 01 June 2023 |
| Date | 01 June 2023 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
The digital communication
tools and citizens’
relationship with local
governments: a
comparison of Georgian
and Polish cities
Maia Maziashvili
Warsaw School of Economics, Collegium of World Economy,
Poland
Agnieszka Pleśniak
Department of International Marketing, Collegium of World
Economy, Warsaw School of Economics, Poland
Izabela Kowalik
Department of International Marketing, Collegium of World
Economy, Warsaw School of Economics, Poland
Abstract
This article aims to explore the impact of digital communication tools application by citizens
and the perceived usefulness of social media on the relationship between citizens and local
authorities. The data were gathered in April–September 2020 through a survey (CAWI)
among citizens of Poznan, Poland (n=502), and Kutaisi, Georgia (n=504), and were analyzed
with structural equation modeling. The findings show that the intensity of digital communica-
tion tools usage for participation in the city branding and the perceived usefulness of social
media contribute to the lasting relationships between citizens and local authorities in both
countries. The novelty of this research concerns comparing two countries with different
levels of development. Georgia is a developing economy in Europe and is in the process of
modernizing the local governance across the cities. Poland, however, is a mature economy
Corresponding author:
Maia Maziashvili, WarsawSchool of Economics, Collegium of WorldEconomy, Madalinskiego str.6/8, room 10,
(Building M, ground floor), 02-513, Warsaw, Poland.
Email: m.maziashvili1@gmail.com
Article
International
Review of
Administrative
Sciences
International Review of Administrative
Sciences
2023, Vol. 89(2) 555–576
© The Author(s) 2022
Article reuse guidelines:
sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/00208523221079746
journals.sagepub.com/home/ras
with a post-transformation heritage, where its cities benefit from considerable experience in
building and developing citizen participation policies. Furthermore, the research was con-
ducted amid the COVID-19 pandemic and evidenced the growing popularity of digital tools
adoption by citizens in city matters. This study contributes to understanding the impact of
digital tools on the relationship between citizens and local authorities in terms of city brand
management. Citizens’participation in the city branding process via various digital communi-
cation tools increased citizen commitment towards long-lasting collaboration with local
authorities. Moreover, citizens’perception of social media usefulness positively influences
their desire to engage in the city branding process online, supporting the trust-building and
collaboration between citizens and local authorities.
Points for practitioners
•The intensiveness of digital tools us age –governments should identify the tools already
trusted and popular among their audience and employ those tools to a greater extent to
maximize the chances of feedback, high citizen participation, and commitment.
•Citizens’perception of social media –such characteristics as ease of use, transparency,
ease of communication with the municipality, and safety encourage citizens to get
involved in the city brand management process. Consequently, local authorities
should consider the features mentioned above and develop the online tools quality.
Keywords
city branding, digital communication tools, participatory city governance, relationship
marketing
Introduction
In recent marketing literature, researchers have given significant attention to the role of
digital tools in engaging customers in the branding process (Hollebeek et al., 2014). At
the same time, the public sector management literature highlights the importance of
online tools in increasing stakeholders’engagement and participation in public activities.
The internet gave citizens the power to impact the process of decision-making, including
the local branding decisions (Bolivar and Munoz, 2019; Eshuis et al., 2014; Zheng,
2017). Unlike traditional collaboration tools, online and social media platforms offer
more accessibility and shared space for engagement and collaboration (Zheng, 2017).
According to Eshuis et al. (2014), citybranding may be called participatory if it is an inter-
active process,where citizens’feelings, emotions, and preferencescan constantly shape the
evolving character of the brand. Citizens’online participation in city branding processes
could be expressed via consulting citizens through online surveys and discussion panels,
enabling them to express their ideas and feelings about the city brand (Eshuiset al., 2014).
Social media constitute a significant space for city brand promotion and offer a boundless
capacity to the city branding processes (Zhou and Wang, 2014). According to Sevin (2016),
social media contribute to innovative place branding projects via sharing impressions and gen-
erating different types of content by stakeholders. Unlike the cities’official websites dedicated to
556 International Review of Administrative Sciences 89(2)
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