Platforms as Distinctive Realms and the Role of Discretionary Power:A Cross-Platform Assessment of Citizen Engagement with Dutch Municipalities on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram

Cross-platform government social network studies have focused on the messages that are being sent, and less on community responses the content generates. Moreover, little attention has been paid to possible contextual drivers of online citizen engagement. This article assesses 505 social media posts made by a sample of Dutch municipalities across four different platforms (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram), their policy area, and the level of engagement they have fostered. The findings support the proposition of policy discretion as contextual driver of online citizen engagement: when mun... Mehr ...