The Effectsof Mobile Mirco-blog Technology On Rural Basic Public Service Performance

As the advancement of economy and society, demands for basic public services in rural areas are growing rapidly in all aspects. However, currently, basic public service provision in rural areas has problems of inadequate supply, single channel, poor timeliness, and weak service consciousness which make it hard to meet demands of rural residents and impact greatly the sustainability of economic and social development in China. One of main reasons is the lack of an effective tool that enables all public service providers collaborate to improve service capabilities as well as improve supervision capabilities of various public service subjects. The tool can guarantee provision of needed basic public services to service objects with scattered distributions and individual differences through an effective channel. Under this circumstance, the public service efficiency can be enhanced and service climate can be established. Mobile Internet and micro-blog technology continues developing and being applicaed in various areas, which offer low-cost, board user based, and convenient technology tools for basic public services provision. In China, local governments have started searching for new basic public service provision modes with the help of information technologies, aiming to improve public service performance.Practical exploration should start from real needs and be guided by theoreties. Currently, resreaches about information technology applications mainly focus on service process. Improvement of organizational capabilities induced by introduction of information technologies is an important aspect when studying organizational performance mechanism. Information System Capabilitt View and Hierarchy of Capabilities View are two important theoretical perspectives. In public service area, it is of great meaning for service performance improvement to introduce mobile services and micro-blog services. The researches about applications of mobile mirco-blog technology into public services are still in initial stage with research results mainly focusing on e-government service performance based on traditional Internet technology. Whether the research results are effective regarding new technologies is still unknown. Consequently, learning the mechanism of service performace after the introduction of mobile micro-blog technology into basic public services in rural areas has significant theoretical values and practical guidance. Shengzhou City is one of the100experimental counties for e-government services appointed by National Government Affairs Publicity Leading Group. Shengzhou’s mobile micro-blog system based on mobile Internet and mirco-blog technology provides basic public services with remarkable effects, which obtain attentions of many media such as People’s Daily and Xinhua, and generate social influence boardly and positively. Under this background, this study takes mobile micro-blog group in Shengzhou as research object and analyzes influencing mechanisms of public service performance after introduction of mobile micro-blog system.This study focuses on the process of public service provision after introduction of mobile Internet and micro-blog into local government. This study aims to learn the influencing mechanism of public service performance based on Information System Capability View and Hierarchy of Capabilities View and on exploratory case study. Specifically, this study1) analyzes how these two technologies impact service process capabilities through two dimensions namely collaboration capability and supervision capability based on New Public Service Theory, as well as analyzes how service process capability influences public service performance directly.2) recognizes public service capability promotion of local government after introduction of mobile mirco-blog technology. Public service capability is divided into two dimensions, namely content service capability and service delivery capability. The mediation effect public service capability exerts on relationship between public service process capability and public service performance is studied based on Hierarchy of Capabilities View.3) examines regulating effects information system application level has on relationship between process capability and service performance. This study investigates382administrative villages that use mobile micro-blog group. Through empirical study, conclusions are drawn:1) service process capability will positively impact public service performance after introduction of mobile micro-blog group to public service provision process in rural areas;2) service capability of local government will positively impact public service performance after introduction of mobile micro-blog group to public service provision process in rural areas;3) mobile micro-blog usage rate and mobile micro-blog task completion rate will regulate the relationship between process capability and public service performance except that the mobile micro-blog task completion rate do not regulate the relationship between supervision capability and service climate.This study has innovative achievements:1) analyze how service process capability influence public service performance based on Information System Capability View after introduction of mobile micro-blog group to public service provision process in rural areas, comfirming that collaboration capabilities and supervision capabilities can positively impact public service performace. And this study also comes up with measurement for public service capability under mobile micro-blog context and proposes that introduction of mobile micro-blog technology will enhance service efficiency in the short term and promote service climate in local government departments in the long term;2) analyze how public service capability moderate relationship between service process capability and service performance based on Hierarchy of Capabilities View after introduction of mobile micro-blog group to public service provision process in rural areas, enlarging the application range of Information System Capability View. The service capability is divided into content service capability and service dilivery capability;3) study if information system application level represented by mobile micro-blog usage rate and mobile micro-blog task completion rate will regulate the relationship between process capability and service performance after introduction of mobile micro-blog group to public service provision process in rural areas. To be concluded, this study takes administrative villages in Shengzhou City, Zhejiang Province as research objects and analyzes the influencing mechanism of public service performance in rural areas after introduction of mobile micro-blog group. This study provides local government with scientific basis for improving public service performance in the process of service government construction. Practical implications are provided for new public service mode of local governments. Besides, research gaps existing in public service process capability, service capability, and public service performance based on Information System Capability View and Hierarchy of Capabilities View are filled and public service performance influencing model is proposed which makes theoretical contributions.