Public value in the perception of citizens from the perspective of smart cities

Abstract

This study addresses the public value theory from the perspective of smart cities and aims to propose the validation of a framework from the citizen’s perception and the principles of public value generation from the perspective of smart cities. For its development, the principles of the OECD were related to the characteristics of smart cities for the elaboration of a questionnaire, using the five-point Likert scale, which was applied to 256 residents of the city of Natal. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and the exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis technique. The results show that even when the citizen has not contributed to the elaboration of the principles for the generation of public value, he/she recognizes the importance of the theme for the delivery of better public services. As a contribution to managers and society, it is suggested more investment in education and knowledge of citizens about the importance of their participation and use of digital services, raising the level of user maturity to the level of maturity of government actions. As an academic contribution, the scale theoretically represented and statistically validated contributes to the continuity of studies on public value, as a key element for governance in smart cities. As an opportunity for future research, the application of the tool in other cities is suggested to establish comparisons, as well as research involving the maturity of respondents, as users of digital government services and their knowledge of public value, for a better alignment between government and citizen.