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The UK COVID-19 app: the failed co-production of a digital public service

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Version 2 2023-06-12, 08:06
Version 1 2023-06-10, 01:10
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-12, 08:06 authored by Tobias Polzer, Galina Goncharenko
The COVID-19 pandemic put governments under pressure to make radical and urgent decisions, and to implement new digital solutions to steer society and deliver public services. Our study analyzes social media discourse to understand the co-production of a digital public service in an emergency situation. Empirically, we mobilize Twitter netnography and discourse analysis to examine citizens’ perceptions of the contact tracing app (CTA) introduced by the UK government to tackle the pandemic and save lives. Our study contributes to research on public sector accountability for digital transformations by advancing scholarly understanding of how societal concerns and public perceptions impact the co-production of digital services. Our findings reveal a high level of public skepticism toward the app and a general distrust of the UK government among the main social challenges of the CTA's implementation. Furthermore, we evidence widespread public distress over the potential violation of democratic freedoms and misuse of the data collected by the app. Finally, we reflect on the linkages between the lack of governmental accountability and the difficulties in mitigating the expressed societal concerns, causing a corresponding resistance on the part of the public to engage in and support co-production.

History

Publication status

  • Published

File Version

  • Published version

Journal

Financial Accountability and Management

ISSN

0267-4424

Publisher

Wiley

Page range

1-18

Department affiliated with

  • Accounting and Finance Publications

Full text available

  • Yes

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2021-09-28

First Open Access (FOA) Date

2021-10-13

First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date

2021-09-28

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