Determinants of data sharing in U.S. city governments

Although the rise of big data, open government, and social media imply greater data sharing, expectations currently do not match reality as many consider data exchange in government to be inadequate. Based on prior research, Additionally, the paper distinguishes technical management capacity and technical engagement capacity effects on agencies' sharing behavior. We test hypotheses predicting sharing behavior of municipal government agencies with other agencies and with non-government organizations using data from a 2012 national survey of U.S. municipal government managers. We find that data sharing with both government and non-government organizations is more strongly determined by persuasive mechanisms and technical engagement capacity, although technical management capacity is also important for sharing with other government agencies. Conclusions provide insights for future research directions and practice.