Active Citizen E-Participation in Local Governance: Do Individual Social Capital and E-Participation Management Matter?

While a growing body of literature has touted e-participation as a means of facilitating greater citizen participation in policy decision-making processes, little is known about the driving forces behind active citizen e-participation. Based on a literature review of social capital and citizen participation, the study develops a model of active e-participation. In this model, this study argues that three dimensions of social capital and citizen participation management are positively associated with active e-participation. To test several hypotheses, the study uses the 2009 E-Participation Survey data collected from 1,076 participants of the Cheon Man Sang Sang Oasis, an e-participation program administered by the Seoul Metropolitan Government in South Korea. Using ordered logistic regression analysis, the study finds that active e-participation is positively affected by citizens´ trust in government, their volunteer experiences, weak offline social ties, and perceived quality responsiveness during the e-participation process.