The development of e-Government in the small municipalities of region of Valencia (Spain): more mirror than glass

Résumé 0

"Studies on how local electronic administration is incorporated in small municipalities are very scarce. However, it is an issue of great interest due to the effects that communicative disconnection causes in rural areas affected by depopulation and ageing. Based on the total census (582) of municipalities of the Valencian Community (Spain), this article presents the results of an empirical study on the development (between 2005 and 2017) of the local e- Government in small municipalities of this region. Using the different stages and dimensions established by the studies on the evolution of e-Government (information, transaction, transparency and participation), we can observe how the latest technological developments (especially the incorporation of Digital Social Networks) have led to a decrease of the digital divide among municipalities according to population size, and greater autonomy of the smallest municipalities in the development of electronic political communication with respect to higher levels of government (provincial, regional and state). Moreover, the article explores (through a sample of extreme cases, 40) a never before addressed dimension in e-Government studies that refers to the identity and symbolic aspects that Digital Social Networks provide. At the local level, and more specifically in small municipalities, it is observed that this identity dimension is developed to a greater extent than those related to the transparency of the government or to citizen participation in local government."