Do feelings matter? Using sentiment analysis to understand the presence of public administrations in digital social networks

Social media utilization in government to interact with the citizens has been paramount during the last years. One of the core aspects of this strategy is the tone/sentiment of the messages, as they may foster public... [ view full abstract ]

Social media utilization in government to interact with the citizens has been paramount during the last years. One of the core aspects of this strategy is the tone/sentiment of the messages, as they may foster public collaboration or encourage citizen participation. This study explores the tone (sentiment) that Spanish municipalities with more than 50,000 inhabitants are using in their social media profiles (Twitter). Our research questions are the following: (P1) What is the general tone/sentiment used by city councils in their digital social network profiles? (P2) What are the explanatory factors behind the adoption of one tone/sentiment? This study uses, on the one hand, a sentiment analysis based on Twitter accounts of selected local city councils. On the other hand, the paper presents empirical-explanatory statistics based on data obtained through a survey developed as part of the #SocialGovNet project. Results show how the Spanish city councils are trying to use a positive tone through their social media profiles. At the same time, this paper encounters difficulties in establishing statistical inferences addressing organizational, institutional and environmental factors (previously proposed in digital governance frameworks such as the Enacting Electronic Government Success (EEGS)), and the use of a concrete tone/sentiment. The paper concludes offering an examination of some of the used variables for future research.