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

Tobias Polzer; Galina Goncharenko

doi:10.1111/faam.12307

journal article Open Access Oct 11, 2021

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

Tobias Polzer

Galina Goncharenko

Financial Accountability & Management Vol. 38 No. 2 pp. 281-298 · Wiley

View at Publisher Save 10.1111/faam.12307

Abstract

AbstractThe 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.

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Details

Published: Oct 11, 2021
Vol/Issue: 38(2)
Pages: 281-298
License: View

Authors

T

Tobias Polzer

Institute for Organization Studies WU Vienna University of Economics and Business Vienna Austria

G

Galina Goncharenko

Department of Accounting and Finance University of Sussex Business School, University of Sussex Brighton UK; Department of Accounting, Auditing and Law NHH – Norwegian School of Economics Bergen Norway

Cite This Article

Tobias Polzer, Galina Goncharenko (2021). The UK COVID‐19 app: The failed co‐production of a digital public service. Financial Accountability & Management, 38(2), 281-298. https://doi.org/10.1111/faam.12307

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

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