From presence to performance: Mapping the digital maturity of Romanian municipalities

V abie, Ca alin
A icle
F om p esence o pe o mance: Mapping he digi al
ma u i y o Romanian municipali ies
Adminis a i e Sciences
P o ided in Coope a ion wi h:
MDPI – Mul idisciplina y Digi al Publishing Ins i u e, Basel
Sugges ed Ci a ion: V abie, Ca alin (2025) : F om p esence o pe o mance: Mapping he digi al
ma u i y o Romanian municipali ies, Adminis a i e Sciences, ISSN 2076-3387, MDPI, Basel, Vol. 15,
Iss. 4, pp. 1-23,
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Ci a ion: V abie, C. (2025). F om
P esence o Pe o mance: Mapping
he Digi al Ma u i y o Romanian
Municipali ies. Adminis a i e Sciences,
15(4), 147. h ps://doi.o g/10.3390/
admsci15040147
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A icle
F om P esence o Pe o mance: Mapping he Digi al Ma u i y o
Romanian Municipali ies
Ca alin V abie
Facul y o Public Adminis a ion, Na ional Uni e si y o Poli ical S udies and Public Adminis a ion,
012244 Bucha es , Romania; [email p o ec ed]o
Abs ac : In ecen yea s, echnological ad ancemen s ha e signi ican ly ans o med he
public sec o , wi h many ins i u ions emb acing digi al solu ions o enhance se ice de-
li e y. Romanian ci y halls a e ac i ely inco po a ing digi aliza ion in o hei sus ainable
de elopmen s a egies, aiming o imp o e se ice e iciency and accessibili y. This s udy
examines he adap abili y o Romanian ci y halls in he ace o echnological changes. By
e alua ing he o icial web po als o all 103 municipali ies in Romania using 23 indica o s,
he esea ch p o ides a comp ehensi e analysis o he cu en s a e (mid 2024) o e-se ices
deli e ed ia he web po als o he espec i e municipali y. E en hough he s udy ind-
ings a e indica ing a ce ain deg ee o ma u i y in digi aliza ion, wi h mos municipali ies
o e ing online se ices such as p ope y ax paymen s, public anspo a ion in o ma ion,
and ci il s a us documen s, i also e eals signi ican dispa i ies in he quali y and a ail-
abili y o hese se ices ac oss he coun y, unde sco ing he need o mo e s anda dized
digi aliza ion e o s. This esea ch con ibu es aluable insigh s o policymake s and
public ins i u ions aiming o enhance se ice deli e y h ough digi al means and highligh s
he c ucial ole o echnology in public sec o ans o ma ion. The conclusions emphasize
he impo ance o he adap abili y o public ins i u ions o ensu e con inui y and e iciency
in se ice deli e y.
Keywo ds: ci y po als; online se ices; digi aliza ion; u ban go e nance; sma ci ies
1. In oduc ion
The apid ad ancemen o echnology has p o oundly impac ed a ious sec o s, in-
cluding public adminis a ion. Digi aliza ion, cha ac e ized by he adop ion o web-based
pla o ms o elec onic public se ices, has become a pi o al componen in he s a egies
o public ins i u ions wo ldwide. Romanian ci y halls a e no excep ion, as hey seek o
imp o e he e iciency and accessibili y o hei se ices h ough digi al ans o ma ion.
The COVID-19 pandemic has accele a ed his end, necessi a ing a swi ansi ion om
adi ional, on-si e ac i i ies o emo e solu ions (An hony & And eas,2023;Zam i e al.,
2021;Ma hias e al.,2020).
Sma ci ies a e he ones ha use echnology and da a o enhance he quali y o li e
o ci izens while p omo ing sus ainable de elopmen , and hey ha e shown signi ican
po en ial in ans o ming public se ice deli e y (Zuhdy & Fauzi,2021;Bha ule e al.,n.d.).
The adap abili y o public ins i u ions o echnological changes is c ucial o he success o
sma ci y ini ia i es. Howe e , he ex en o which hese changes ha e been implemen ed
and hei e ec i eness emains unde -explo ed, pa icula ly in he con ex o Romanian
municipali ies o whom he p esen s udy e e s (Schach ne ,2021;Mulle -To ok & P osse ,
2021;WHO,2023).
Adm. Sci. 2025,15, 147 h ps://doi.o g/10.3390/admsci15040147
Adm. Sci. 2025,15, 147 2 o 23
This s udy aims o ill his gap by e alua ing he adap abili y o Romanian ci y halls
in he digi al e a. By examining he o icial web po als o all 103 municipali ies using 23
speci ic indica o s, his esea ch assesses he cu en s a e o e-se ices and iden i ies bo h
he p og ess and dispa i ies in digi al se ice deli e y. Key indings indica e signi ican
s ides in digi aliza ion bu also highligh conside able a ia ions in se ice quali y and
a ailabili y ac oss municipali ies.
The signi icance o his s udy lies in i s comp ehensi e analysis o he digi al ans-
o ma ion o public se ices in Romania, o e ing aluable insigh s o policymake s and
public ins i u ions. By iden i ying he bes p ac ices and a eas needing imp o emen ,
his esea ch con ibu es o he ongoing discou se on sma ci y de elopmen and digi al
go e nance. I unde sco es he impo ance o s anda dized app oaches o digi aliza ion
o ensu e equi able access o high-quali y public se ices o all ci izens. The conclusion
emphasizes he need o adap able public ins i u ions o main ain e icien se ice deli e y
(Budd e al.,2020;Na u e,2022;Xu & Tang,2020).
Based on he scope o he s udy, he ollowing esea ch ques ions (RQs) a e p oposed:
•
RQ1: To wha ex en ha e Romanian municipali ies implemen ed digi al se ices on
hei o icial websi es as o mid-2024?
•
RQ2: Wha pa e ns o digi al ma u i y can be obse ed ac oss di e en classes o
analysis (e.g., anspa ency, e-documen s, and communica ion)?
•
RQ3: How do he esul s align wi h exis ing e-go e nmen ma u i y models, pa icu-
la ly in dis inguishing municipali ies a he ansac ional (e-Go 2.0) and in eg a ed
se ice (e-Go 3.0) s ages?
These ques ions guide he design o he analy ical amewo k and p o ide a s uc u ed
lens o in e p e ing he indings p esen ed in his s udy.
2. Con ex
Many schola s p opose ha he a ious s ages o digi aliza ion, o i s ma u i y le el,
can be obse ed h ough he deli e y o elec onic public se ices ia he web, anging
om he s a ic display o in o ma ion o a ully in eg a ed pla o m o se ices p o ided
(Pa do,2000;Bal ac,2011;V abie,2009b). The las s age is de ined by he con inuous and
e o less dissemina ion o in o ma ion wi hin he adminis a i e web space.
The p ima y objec i e o his a icle is no jus o ad oca e o pe sonalized digi al
se ices as an essen ial p og ession bu ins ead o examine hese se ices as a model o
he di usion o web echnologies, ocusing speci ically on he mos o e ed se ices on
Romanian ci y halls’ web po als. To achie e a ho ough unde s anding, we analyzed he
p e alence o in e ne -based elec onic se ices ac oss all 103 municipali ies in Romania.
Romania is a decen alized s a e, meaning ha municipali ies ha e conside able
au onomy om he cen al public adminis a ion, including he design and managemen
o elec onic se ices (Bal ac,2011;V abie,2009a). A he na ional le el, digi aliza ion
ini ia i es a e coo dina ed by he Minis y o Resea ch, Inno a ion, and Digi aliza ion,
in conjunc ion wi h he Minis y o De elopmen , Public Wo ks, and Adminis a ion.
Unlike o he Eu opean coun ies such as Es onia and Denma k, Romania does no ha e a
chie in o ma ion o ice (CIO) a ei he he cen al o local le els o o e see digi aliza ion
e o s aimed a achie ing in e - and in a-ins i u ional collabo a ion. The absence o a CIO
in Romanian’s public ins i u ions may esul in a lack o cohe en s a egies, ine icien
esou ce u iliza ion, and slowe p og ess in digi aliza ion e o s (Uni ed Na ion,2020;Ojo
e al.,2007;Obi,2007).
The coun y is he wel h la ges in Eu ope, as i is in he cen e -eas o he con inen
(Figu e 1le ) and is also he six h mos populous in he Eu opean Union. I is di ided
Adm. Sci. 2025,15, 147 3 o 23
in o 41 coun ies (see Figu e 1 igh ), wi h each o hem ha ing a di e en numbe o
municipali ies (103 in o al), ci ies (216), and owns (2862).
Adm. Sci. 2025, 15, x FOR PEER REVIEW 3 o 24
The coun y is he wel h la ges in Eu ope, as i is in he cen e -eas o he con inen
(Figu e 1 le ) and is also he six h mos populous in he Eu opean Union. I is di ided
in o 41 coun ies (see Figu e 1 igh ), wi h each o hem ha ing a diffe en numbe o mu-
nicipali ies (103 in o al), ci ies (216), and owns (2862).
Municipali ies a e he iches adminis a i e uni s, which is why his a icle only o-
cuses on hem, and hey ha e he wides ange o sel -go e nmen asks among all. They
a e esponsible o deli e ing he se ices ha hei local communi y needs. Based on he
abo e, municipali ies a e di ec ly in luencing he digi aliza ion le el.
Figu e 1. (le ) Loca ion o Romania in Eu ope; ( igh ) he coun ies and municipali ies o Romania.
Sou ce: au ho s’ own wo k.
3. Li e a u e Re iew
E-go e nmen ini ially in ol ed publishing in o ma ion on public ins i u ion web-
si es. This i s phase was ollowed by enabling ci izens o communica e wi h hese ins i-
u ions ia email, leading o mo e sophis ica ed websi es wi h in eg a ed in ane pla -
o ms o s eamlined elec onic documen managemen (V abie, 2016). The subsequen
phase allowed o online paymen s and g ea e ci izen in e ac ion h ough social media,
webcams, and i ual mee ing applica ions, effec i ely making ci izens ac i e pa icipan s
in he go e nance p ocess (V abie & Dumi ascu, 2018; Timan e al., 2021; V abie, 2023).
The de elopmen o he a he new concep o e-go e nmen 3.0 has seen he inco po a-
ion o a i icial in elligence (AI) ools in adminis a i e asks, enhancing public se an s’
analy ical and decision-making capabili ies and s eng hening ci izen–ins i u ion ela ion-
ships (V abie, 2022).
Theo e ical app oaches om esea che s such as O likowski (O likowski, 2000) and
Czia niawska and Se on (Cza niawska & Se ón, 2005) in he ea ly 2000s highligh en i-
onmen al p essu es as he impe us o de eloping web pla o ms and elec onic se ices.
O likowski and Ba ley (O likowski & Ba ley, 2001) u he illumina e he p ocess o ech-
nology de elopmen and o ganiza ional change by ad oca ing o he implemen a ion o
elec onic se ices.
Ma c Holze ’s analyses, p esen ed in “Digi al Go e nance in Municipali ies Wo ld-
wide” (Holze & Manoha an, 2016), offe a aluable model o s udying digi aliza ion a
he local le el. Complemen a y esea ch om jou nals like he Jou nal o Web Seman ics
[issues 2020–2024], Sus ainabili y and Sma Ci ies [issues 2020–2024], Go e nmen In o -
ma ion Qua e ly [issues 2020–2024], and he In e na ional Jou nal o Web Se ices Resea ch
[issues 2020–2024] indica e a b oad ocus on e-go e nmen , hough no always a he com-
p ehensi e scale his s udy aims o achie e.
Don Tapsco ’s seminal wo k “G own Up Digi al” (Tapsco , 2008), alongside s udies
by Hombu g and Dijkshoo n on pe sonalized e-go e nmen se ices (Hombu g & Dijks-
hoo n, 2011), unde sco es he inc easing impo ance o ci izen in e ac ion wi h public
Figu e 1. (le ) Loca ion o Romania in Eu ope; ( igh ) he coun ies and municipali ies o Romania.
Sou ce: au ho s’ own wo k.
Municipali ies a e he iches adminis a i e uni s, which is why his a icle only
ocuses on hem, and hey ha e he wides ange o sel -go e nmen asks among all. They
a e esponsible o deli e ing he se ices ha hei local communi y needs. Based on he
abo e, municipali ies a e di ec ly in luencing he digi aliza ion le el.
3. Li e a u e Re iew
E-go e nmen ini ially in ol ed publishing in o ma ion on public ins i u ion websi es.
This i s phase was ollowed by enabling ci izens o communica e wi h hese ins i u ions
ia email, leading o mo e sophis ica ed websi es wi h in eg a ed in ane pla o ms o
s eamlined elec onic documen managemen (V abie,2016). The subsequen phase al-
lowed o online paymen s and g ea e ci izen in e ac ion h ough social media, webcams,
and i ual mee ing applica ions, e ec i ely making ci izens ac i e pa icipan s in he
go e nance p ocess (V abie & Dumi ascu,2018;Timan e al.,2021;V abie,2023). The
de elopmen o he a he new concep o e-go e nmen 3.0 has seen he inco po a ion o
a i icial in elligence (AI) ools in adminis a i e asks, enhancing public se an s’ analy i-
cal and decision-making capabili ies and s eng hening ci izen–ins i u ion ela ionships
(V abie,2022).
Theo e ical app oaches om esea che s such as O likowski (O likowski,2000) and
Czia niawska and Se on (Cza niawska & Se ón,2005) in he ea ly 2000s highligh en i-
onmen al p essu es as he impe us o de eloping web pla o ms and elec onic se ices.
O likowski and Ba ley (O likowski & Ba ley,2001) u he illumina e he p ocess o ech-
nology de elopmen and o ganiza ional change by ad oca ing o he implemen a ion o
elec onic se ices.
Ma c Holze ’s analyses, p esen ed in “Digi al Go e nance in Municipali ies Wo ld-
wide” (Holze & Manoha an,2016), o e a aluable model o s udying digi aliza ion a
he local le el. Complemen a y esea ch om jou nals like he Jou nal o Web Seman ics
[issues 2020–2024], Sus ainabili y and Sma Ci ies [issues 2020–2024], Go e nmen In o ma ion
Qua e ly [issues 2020–2024], and he In e na ional Jou nal o Web Se ices Resea ch [issues
2020–2024] indica e a b oad ocus on e-go e nmen , hough no always a he comp ehen-
si e scale his s udy aims o achie e.
Don Tapsco ’s seminal wo k “G own Up Digi al” (Tapsco ,2008), alongside s udies
by Hombu g and Dijkshoo n on pe sonalized e-go e nmen se ices (Hombu g & Dijk-
shoo n,2011), unde sco es he inc easing impo ance o ci izen in e ac ion wi h public
Adm. Sci. 2025,15, 147 4 o 23
adminis a ion. Success ul examples include na ional ini ia i es like Es onia’s ees i.ee (Riigi
Po al ees i.ee,n.d.), No way’s No way.no (No wegian Minis y o Fo eign A ai s,n.d.),
Belgium’s MyMinFin (belgium.be,n.d.), he Ne he lands’ MijnO e heid app (MijnO e -
heid,n.d.), and Denma k’s bo ge .dk (bo ge .dk,n.d.).
Despi e inc easing demand o e icien public se ices, he e is a global end o de-
clining us in go e nmen al bodies (Hallahan,2017;Fomb un & an Riel,2017;Vangelo ,
2023). This dynamic unde sco es he need o upg aded in as uc u e, enhanced se ices,
and adap i e leade ship, al hough limi ed budge s and ising demands o en slow down
hese e o s (Iancu,2013). The li e a u e on public managemen posi s ha web applica ions
can add ess hese challenges by p omo ing good go e nance h ough imp o ed se ice
deli e y, ask au oma ion, and decision suppo , pa icula ly when enhanced by AI. Online
pla o ms also boos anspa ency, accoun abili y, and ci izen engagemen (Thakha hi &
Langa,2022;de Lange-Ros e al.,2018;Schach ne ,2021;E scheid,2019;Kolkman,2020).
Resea ch by Ib issem e al. (Ib issem e al.,2018), who used ad anced s a is ical
me hods, highligh s he challenges eme ging economies ace in add essing go e nance
issues. Digi al pla o ms, pa icula ly hose powe ed by AI, a e he alded as e olu iona y
o public managemen , acili a ing e-pe i ioning h ough au oma ed esponses (Munshi
e al.,2021;Zalwe ,2021). S udies by H eˇno e al. (H eˇno e al.,2011) and Piaggesi (Piaggesi,
2021) u he discuss achie ing seman ic in e ope abili y and he u u e o connec i i y,
espec i ely. Ve ma’s bibliome ic e iew (Ve ma,2022) sugges s ha sma echnologies
a e os e ing sma e go e nance, al hough his iew is op imis ic.
The in eg a ion o web echnologies in o public se ice deli e y is now seen as a
co ne s one o sma ci y de elopmen , enhancing e iciency, accessibili y, and ci izen
engagemen . Recen s udies ha e explo ed a ious ace s o his in eg a ion, highligh ing
bo h i s po en ial and challenges. Fo ins ance, La upei issa e al. (La upei issa e al.,2024)
conduc ed a comp ehensi e e iew o digi al ans o ma ion p ojec s in public se ice
deli e y, inding ha such ini ia i es imp o e e iciency, inc ease ci izen in ol emen , and
enhance go e nmen accoun abili y. Howe e , hey also iden i ied challenges like he
digi al di ide, which can exace ba e inequali ies by excluding indi iduals lacking access
o o amilia i y wi h digi al pla o ms. Simila ly, Pisla u e al. (2024) examined he ole
o a i icial in elligence in go e nance p ocesses, ocusing on AI-d i en ools like cha bo s
ha acili a e e ec i e communica ion be ween public ins i u ions and ci izens. Thei
s udy sugges s ha hese echnologies can imp o e se ice deli e y and os e g ea e
public pa icipa ion. Iqbal and Ola iu (2021) explo ed he in eg a ion o in o ma ion and
communica ion echnologies (ICTs) wi h ci izens’ li es, emphasizing he impo ance o
igh e in eg a ion o b ing new se ices o he public. They e iew known echnologies
ha play a signi ican ole in he ansi ion o Socie y 5.0, aiming o mee he a ious
needs o socie y membe s h ough ICT in eg a ion. Fu he mo e, I ai e al. (I ai e al.,
2023) discuss he concep o sma public spaces, which in ol e ci izens in go e nance and
le e age sma echnology o moni o ing, p o iding eal- ime in o ma ion and se ices
and imp o ing acili y e iciency.
Madan and Ashok (Madan & Ashok,2023) iden i y key con ex ual a iables a ec ing
he adop ion o online se ices, emphasizing he impo ance o go e nance ma u i y
in IT implemen a ion. Ahn and Chen (Ahn & Chen,2022) ind ha public employees
a e gene ally posi i e abou he in eg a ion o echnology, an icipa ing imp o emen s in
e iciency and se ice quali y. Simila ly, Eom and Lee (Eom & Lee,2022;Zanko a,2021)
conclude ha ac o -based compu ing models and la ge-scale da a u iliza ion can enhance
go e nmen decision-making, leading o cos sa ings and imp o ed e en an icipa ion.
The p ope implemen a ion o cu en web applica ions is expec ed o signi ican ly imp o e
ci izen engagemen wi h go e nmen se ices.

Adm. Sci. 2025,15, 147 5 o 23
These s udies collec i ely a i m he c i ical ole o web echnologies in mode nizing
public se ices, p omo ing sus ainable de elopmen , and enhancing he quali y o li e in
u ban en i onmen s. They also highligh he necessi y o inclusi e digi al s a egies ha
add ess access dispa i ies o ensu e equi able bene i s o all ci izens.
The measu emen o e-se ices in public adminis a ion has been widely s udied
h ough a ious models and amewo ks. Some o he mos in luen ial heo e ical
models include Layne and Lee’s E-Go e nmen Ma u i y Model (2001), a ou -s age
amewo k p og essing om ca aloging (basic online in o ma ion) o ansac ional se -
ices (in e ac i e e-se ices), e ical in eg a ion (in e connec i i y be ween di e en
go e nmen le els), and ho izon al in eg a ion (seamless, in e ope able se ices ac oss
agencies) (Layne & Lee,2001).
Uni ed Na ions E-Go e nmen De elopmen Index (EGDI): his index e alua es online
se ices, elecommunica ion in as uc u e, and human capi al, o e ing a global benchma k
o assessing digi al go e nance ma u i y (Uni ed Na ions,2025).
The digi aliza ion o public se ices ex ends beyond adminis a i e unc ions o key
economic sec o s such as anspo a ion, mobili y solu ions, and sha ed se ices. Resea ch
by he Eu opean Cen al Bank (Eu opean Cen al Bank,2023) highligh s he ans o ma i e
economic e ec s o digi aliza ion in u ban mobili y, pa icula ly in he in eg a ion o sma
anspo solu ions wi h municipal go e nance.
While hese amewo ks p o ide aluable insigh s, hey a e o en designed o com-
pa a i e na ional assessmen s a he han de ailed municipal e alua ions. The e o e, he
need o a localized, con ex -speci ic measu emen amewo k emains ele an , especially
in he case o Romania’s municipal se ices.
4. Resea ch Me hodology
Despi e he exis ence o he abo e heo e ical models, hey do no ully cap u e he
municipal-le el digi aliza ion ends obse ed in Romania, speci ically
•
Lack o g anula i y: he UN EGDI and Holze ’s model ocus on b oad na ional
indica o s, ailing o assess municipal se ice di e en ia ion.
•
Limi ed ci izen-cen ic indica o s: many amewo ks emphasize echnological a ail-
abili y a he han usabili y, ci izen in e ac ion, and se ice e iciency.
•
Absence o local go e nance au onomy conside a ions: Romania’s decen alized go -
e nance s uc u e allows municipali ies o implemen digi al se ices independen ly,
which is no e lec ed in s anda d global indices.
To add ess hese gaps, his s udy adop s a municipali y-speci ic e alua ion amewo k.
Unlike exis ing models, his classi ica ion p o ides a p ac ical, municipali y-cen e ed as-
sessmen ha highligh s a ia ions in digi al go e nance implemen a ion a he local le el.
Public au ho i ies p omo e he alues o hei ini ia i es o ongoing p ojec s p ima ily
by pos ing hem on hei websi es (Feeney & B own,2017;Khudei a,n.d.;V abie,2009a,
2011). As ea ly as 1999, Jon M. Kleinbe g om Co nell Uni e si y (Kleinbe g,1999) exam-
ined he ne wo k s uc u e o hype linked en i onmen s and de eloped a se o algo i hmic
ools o ex ac in o ma ion om such link s uc u es.
Fo da a collec ion in his s udy, he au ho s employed he Pa seHub API (Pa seHub,
2023) o simul aneously ga he in o ma ion om all 103 o icial municipal websi es. To
mi iga e da a loss om websi es ha we e empo a ily down du ing he ini ial que y, he
p ocess was epea ed one week la e . This me hodology ensu ed mo e comp ehensi e and
accu a e da a collec ion.
The selec ion o municipali ies o his s udy was based on Romania’s o icial classi i-
ca ion o adminis a i e e i o ial uni s. As men ioned, we included all 103 municipali ies,
which a e de ined as he highes - anking ci ies in Romania’s adminis a i e hie a chy.
Adm. Sci. 2025,15, 147 6 o 23
These a e dis inc om owns and communes due o hei la ge popula ion, economic
in luence, and wide scope o adminis a i e esponsibili ies. No addi ional demog aphic
il e s (such as popula ion size h esholds o economic indica o s) we e applied, ensu ing
comp ehensi e na ional co e age.
The ini ial lis o URLs was de i ed om o icial egis ies main ained by he Minis y
o De elopmen , Public Wo ks, and Adminis a ion and c oss- alida ed wi h public da a
om he Associa ion o Romanian Municipali ies. This ensu ed ha each domain was
accu a ely mapped o i s espec i e adminis a i e uni . In ins ances o ambigui y o
missing links, manual sea ches we e conduc ed using he municipali y’s name and e i ied
h ough go e nmen po als and con ac in o ma ion.
To ensu e da a accu acy, we employed a wo-s age quali y assu ance mechanism:
•
Au oma ed sc aping using Pa seHub API was used o ga he s uc u ed da a uni o mly
ac oss all web pages.
•
Manual alida ion was conduc ed on a sample o c oss-check he sc ape ou pu s
agains he ac ual websi e con en . This included e i ying he accu acy o indica o
de ec ion and he co ec associa ion be ween each web po al and i s ci y hall.
This s udy ca ego ized he que ies in o i e dis inc classes ha a e essen ial o
e alua ing municipal websi es. The i s class, anspa ency, ocused on he municipali y’s
compliance wi h ele an egula ions. The second class, e-documen s, examined a ious
aspec s ela ed o elec onic documen s. The hi d class, communica ion, aimed o ex ac
c i ical in o ma ion on he municipali y’s use o new media. The ou h class assessed he
a ailabili y o use ul online in o ma ion, such as ci y maps, li e came as, and newsle e s.
The inal class e alua ed he ease o websi e na iga ion and o e all use - iendliness. The
esponses o he que ies we e hen a ed on a ixed-poin scale, as ou lined in he able
below. These i e analy ical ca ego ies we e no p ede ined bu eme ged om he logical
g ouping o indica o s based on hei unc ion, as shown in Table 1.
Fo he analysis, 48 ins umen s we e ini ially used o in es iga e speci ic websi es.
Howe e , o his s udy, only 23 we e conside ed based on hei ele ance o he esea ch
ques ion. The emaining 25 indica o s, while aluable o assessing b oade aspec s o
good go e nance and local adminis a i e pe o mance, ocused p ima ily on adi ional
go e nance conce ns a he han digi al ma u i y. Examples o hese excluded indica o s
include measu es such as epo ing he p esence o po holes in ci y oads; assessing whe he
public anspo a ion adequa ely se es ci izens’ needs, pa icula ly in newly de eloped
neighbo hoods; and e alua ing he cleanliness o public spaces o he a ailabili y and
quali y o ec ea ional acili ies. Such go e nance- ocused indica o s, al hough impo an ,
did no di ec ly con ibu e o e alua ing he municipali ies’ digi al ma u i y and we e
he e o e se aside o a sepa a e, go e nance-cen e ed analysis.
The 23 ins umen s we e g ouped in o he i e classes men ioned abo e, wi h each
con aining a di e en numbe o indica o s, as shown in Table 1. All 23 indica o s we e
equally weigh ed o ensu e ai ness and me hodological consis ency. Fo bina y indica o s
(e.g., he p esence o a mayo ’s con ac o m o downloadable o ms), a ixed sco e o 1 poin
was awa ded o p esence and 0 o absence. Howe e , wo indica o s (C51—Pleasan
Design and C52—Easy B owsing) equi ed subjec i e e alua ion. Fo hese, a 5-poin Like
scale was applied using p ede ined ub ics (de ailed in Table 2wi h e y ele an e e ences
om he ield), and sco es we e con e ed in o no malized alues (ou o 5 poin s) o align
wi h o he ca ego ies.
Adm. Sci. 2025,15, 147 7 o 23
Table 1. Classes o analysis used in his s udy.
C1
T anspa ency
C2
E-Documen s
C3
Communica ion
C4
P ac ical Con en
C5
Gene ali ies
C11.
Employee’s decla a ion
o weal h
C21.
Online o ms and/o
o -line (.pd , .doc, and
.xls)
C31.
Mayo cabine di ec
con ac line (by email,
el., o Wha sApp
numbe )
C41.
Ci y map on he Google
map pla o m (upda ed
and main ained by he
municipali y)
C51.
Pleasan design o he
ci y o icial websi e 1
C12.
O ganiza ional cha
C22.
T acking o submi ed
applica ion
C32.
Online sugges ions o
imp o emen
C42.
In si e sea ch by
keywo ds
C52.
Easy b owsing inside
he websi e 2
C13.
Minu es o he
in e nal/public
mee ings
C23.
Online pe i ioning
C33.
Social media o icial
p esence (Facebook,
Ins ag am, Twi e , e c.)
C43.
Mul iple language
selec o
C53.
Con ac in o ma ion
ega ding p i a e
companies ha p o ide
public se ices
C14.
Employees’ esumes
C24.
Public announcemen s
C34.
Sign-in/Log-in sec ion
o ci izens
C44.
Ci y news sec ion
C15.
Budge in o ma ion - -
C45.
Lis o li e came as and
web add esses o
ci izens o connec
-
C16.
Exis ence o legisla ion
and ci y/coun y
decisions
- -
C46.
Newsle e
subsc ip ion
-
Maximum no. o poin s
pe class = 6
Maximum no. o poin s
pe class = 4
Maximum no. o poin s
pe class = 4
Maximum no. o poin s
pe class = 6
Maximum no. o poin s
pe class = 3
Maximum no. o poin s pe ci y = 23
1,2
While he i s ou classes a e easy o measu e (‘0’ o non-exis en in o ma ion and ‘1’ o exis ing in o ma ion),
he C5 subclass, gene ali ies, needs some u he explana ion. The e o e, in he able below we p esen he C51
and C52 subclasses’ c i e ia.
Table 2. C i e ia o he C51 and C52 subclasses (Anusha,2014;Alsaeedi,2020;Mallon,2014;Bigby,
2018;C aig,n.d.).
G ade Desc ip ion
1
- The po al’s design is e y poo , unp o essional, and p obably execu ed in-house.
- Di icul na iga ion: he si e is buil in .h ml; i has no dynamism, and he maximum numbe o clicks needed o
each he las page o a b anch is mo e han ou .
2- The design is poo and is p obably execu ed in-house.
- Di icul na iga ion: he si e is buil in .h ml, and i has no dynamism.
3
- Sa is ac o y design, ye he page is o e loaded.
- Di icul na iga ion, bushy menus, and ha d o iden i y exac ly whe e he in o ma ion can be ound; gene al
in o ma ion abou he municipali y is displayed in a o “be he e” manne .
4
- Pleasan con as s, ai y page/easy na iga ion, bu wi h bushy menus e en i hey a e execu ed in ad anced
p og amming languages (ASP, PHP, e c.).
- The in o ma ion abou he municipali y is ich and “a sigh ”.
5
- The websi e is execu ed in a p o essional manne , and he pages a e ai y.
- Na iga ion is comple ely dynamic and in ui i e; he in o ma ion abou he municipali y is e y ich and easy
o ind.
Al hough mul iple e alua o s we e no used o sco ing, a s anda dized ub ic was
applied h oughou o educe po en ial sco ing bias as add essed in he limi a ion sec-
Adm. Sci. 2025,15, 147 8 o 23
ion o his a icle. Fu u e wo k will inco po a e in e - a e eliabili y es ing o u he
enhance objec i i y.
The ins umen s used we e chosen based on a sys ema ic e iew o p e ious esea ch
on e-go e nmen se ice measu emen and municipal digi aliza ion. The selec ion p ocess
ollowed hese s eps:
•
Li e a u e Re iew: The e we e examined global e-go e nmen assessmen amewo ks,
such as he Uni ed Na ions E-Go e nmen De elopmen Index (EGDI) (Uni ed Na-
ions,2025), Layne and Lee’s E-Go e nmen Ma u i y Model (Layne & Lee,2001), and
Holze ’s Digi al Go e nance Model (Holze & Manoha an,2016). Also, he au ho s
e iewed municipal- ocused s udies, including hose by Feeney and B own (2017)
and Hombu g and Dijkshoo n (2011), which e alua ed online se ices a he local
go e nmen le el.
•
Alignmen wi h Romanian Municipal P ac ices: The lis was e ined by conside ing
ac ual se ices p o ided by Romanian municipali ies (as obse ed in a p elimina y
websi e analysis conduc ed be ween 2012 and 2024). Only indica o s wi h a clea public
se ice unc ion (e.g., e-pe i ions, online ax paymen s, and anspa ency epo s) we e
included. Expe Valida ion: a panel o digi al go e nance specialis s and municipal
IT o ice s e iewed he lis o ensu e ele ance and easibili y.
Below, one can see he o mula needed o con e he 1- o-5 scale in o poin s:
C51 =GC51 ×0.20 (1)
C52 =GC52 ×0.20 (2)
whe e
C51 and C52 — Values o he named subclasses;
GC51 and GC52 — G ades ecei ed by each subclass.
The o mulas o e e y class and o he inal esul used in he p esen s udy a e
as ollows:
C1 (TRANSPARENCY)=
MaxC1
∑
i=1
C1(i)(3)
C2 (E−DOCUMENTS)=
MaxC2
∑
i=1
C2(i)(4)
C3 (COMMUNICATION)=
MaxC3
∑
i=1
C3(i)(5)
C4 (USEFUL CONTENT)=
MaxC4
∑
i=1
C4(i)(6)
C5 (GENERALITIES)=
MaxC5
∑
i=1
C5(i)(7)
Ms =
MaxC1
∑
i=1
C1(i)+
MaxC2
∑
i=1
C2(i)+
MaxC4
∑
i=1
C4(i)+
MaxC4
∑
i=1
C4(i)+
MaxC5
∑
i=1
C5(i)(8)
whe e
Adm. Sci. 2025,15, 147 15 o 23
de eloped in-house using popula con en managemen sys ems (CMSs) such as Joomla,
Wo dP ess, o D upal. Howe e , he quali y o hese websi es is no inhe en ly de e mined
by he pla o m i sel . Ra he , i depends on how well he pla o m is cus omized, he design
choices made, and he le el o p o essional expe ise in ol ed in implemen a ion. While
some newe echnologies o e ad anced ea u es, hey can also in oduce ine iciencies (e.g.,
bloa ed code o sluggish pe o mance) i no ca e ully managed. Likewise, well-main ained
legacy sys ems can s ill deli e highly usable and e icien use expe iences. The e o e,
he obse ed design sho comings a e mo e likely a ibu able o a lack o specialized
design expe ise o insu icien in es men in on -end cus omiza ion han o he CMS
choice alone.
5.3. Discussion o Di e ences Be ween Ca ego ies
A compa a i e analysis o he i e e-go e nance ca ego ies e eals no able dispa i ies:
•
Bes -Pe o ming Ca ego y: anspa ency. This is expec ed, as Romanian law man-
da es he publica ion o inancial eco ds, budge s, and public mee ing minu es (Law
no. 52/2003). The high sco es indica e compliance wi h legal equi emen s a he han
p oac i e digi al inno a ion.
•
Weakes Ca ego y: gene ali ies. This ca ego y assesses use expe ience, accessibili y,
and design quali y. The lowe sco es sugges ha es he ics and na igabili y a e
no a p io i y o many municipali ies. Possible causes: limi ed IT expe ise among
municipal s a and eliance on in-house de elopmen using basic CMS pla o ms
(Joomla and Wo dP ess).
•
Eme ging T end: e-documen s and communica ion. Signi ican g ow h in elec onic
o ms and online pe i ions. Howe e , acking sys ems o submi ed applica ions
a e s ill unde de eloped (only 73.79% a ailabili y). This indica es a shi owa d
ansac ional e-go e nmen (e-Go 2.0), which has no ye eached ully in eg a ed
se ices (e-Go 3.0).
To illus a e he in eg a ion o indica o s wi h e-go e nmen ma u i y models, he da a
e eal clea examples:
•
A majo i y (85.44%) o municipali ies p o ide e-pe i ioning sys ems (C23) and online
acking o submi ed applica ions (73.79%), posi ioning hem solidly wi hin he
“T ansac ional” s age.
•
One exempla y municipali y, achie ing he highes o e all sco e o 23 poin s, o e s
ad anced in eg a ed se ices like pe sonalized log-in expe iences, comp ehensi e mul-
ilingual po als, egula ly upda ed Google Maps in eg a ion, and li e came a eeds,
hus demons a ing a ansi ion owa d he “In eg a ed Se ices” s age (e-Go 3.0).
6. S udy Limi a ions
While his s udy p o ides aluable insigh s in o he e-go e nance capabili ies o Roma-
nian municipali ies, se e al limi a ions mus be conside ed when in e p e ing he esul s:
•
Na u e o he da a: This s udy’s na ional scope makes eplica ion di icul . Mo eo e ,
despi e que ying all Romanian municipali ies a he same ime, wi h he same ools
and indica o s, he eby con olling o po en ial in e ening and con ounding ac o s
and educing he isk o endogenei y, his limi a ion s ill exis s;
•
Tempo al alidi y: Gi en he dynamic na u e o online con en , he da a collec ed
may no ully ep esen he cu en s a e o municipal websi es, especially ollowing
adminis a i e changes in June 2024 (Bi oul Elec o al Cen al [BEC],2024). This
limi a ion is common in digi al esea ch and e lec s he inhe en eloci y o web-
based en i onmen s;

Adm. Sci. 2025,15, 147 16 o 23
•
Inabili y o make in e na ional compa isons: compa ing he esul s o his s udy wi h
hose om o he coun ies may be inaccu a e due o di e ences in economies, policies,
app oaches, and gene al condi ions ha in luence he pace o digi aliza ion;
•
Limi ed indica o s: This s udy elied on speci ic indica o s o assess e-go e nance
capaci y, which may no cap u e all aspec s o he local public adminis a ion’s capa-
bili ies. The use o addi ional o al e na i e indica o s and/o sou ces o da a could
po en ially yield di e en esul s;
•
C oss-sec ional da a: This s udy is based on a snapsho o da a a a speci ic poin in
ime, which may no e lec changes in e-go e nance capaci y o e ime. Longi udinal
da a would p o ide a mo e p ecise depic ion o he associa ions be ween he a iables
unde in es iga ion.
•
Po en ial o measu emen e o : The p ocess o collec ing da a o some indica o s
and assigning sco es may be subjec o human e o o biases. Subjec i e in e p e a ion
was necessa y in class C5 (gene ali ies). Howe e , a s anda dized ub ic was applied
o main ain sco ing consis ency.
•
P ima y ocus on assessing online engagemen : This ocus may no cap u e he ull
spec um o in e ac ions and communica ion channels be ween ci izens and go e n-
men bodies. Addi ionally, he esea ch may no accoun o po en ial ba ie s o online
engagemen , such as digi al li e acy, in e ne access, o he e ec i eness o he digi al
ools p o ided by he ins i u ions. Consequen ly, he indings migh no ully e lec
he o e all engagemen and in e ac ion be ween ci izens and hei local go e nmen s.
•
The s udy p ima ily ocuses on he a ailabili y and s uc u al eadiness o digi al
se ices, a he han hei ac ual usage (adop ion a es) o e ec i eness (e.g., educed
adminis a i e bu den o imp o ed ci izen sa is ac ion). While his p o ides a use ul
p oxy o e alua ing municipal digi al ma u i y, i does no cap u e he ull spec um
o digi al se ice pe o mance. This limi a ion a ises la gely om he absence o
publicly a ailable usage da a o ci izen eedback analy ics on municipal pla o ms.
Consequen ly, while his s udy can assess how well-p epa ed municipali ies a e in
o e ing digi al se ices, i canno e alua e how hose se ices a e being ecei ed o
u ilized. We ha e he e o e chosen o in e p e “digi al ma u i y” in his s udy as
digi al in as uc u e ma u i y, ocusing on he supply side o e-go e nmen . Fu u e
esea ch will aim o complemen his s uc u al analysis wi h demand-side indica o s,
including pla o m usage me ics, ci izen sa is ac ion su eys, and adminis a i e
e iciency imp o emen s.
•
The p esen analyses p ima ily e alua e municipal websi e ea u es as a p oxy o
e-go e nmen ma u i y, ocusing on he a ailabili y o online se ices, anspa ency,
and digi al engagemen , and his s udy is no ocusing on in e ope abili y and ci i-
zens’ usage.
By add essing hese limi a ions in u u e esea ch, a mo e comp ehensi e unde s and-
ing o he ela ionship be ween ci y popula ion size and e-go e nance capabili ies can
be achie ed.
7. Findings
The concep s o sma ci ies and e-go e nmen 3.0 ep esen he o e on o le e aging
ad anced echnologies o enhance u ban li ing, go e nance, and public se ices. F om he
pe spec i e o municipal web pages, hese ends mani es h ough he implemen a ion
o a ious digi al ools, solu ions, and s a egies ha acili a e communica ion be ween
ci izens and local go e nmen s and s eamline he deli e y o public se ices.
Adm. Sci. 2025,15, 147 17 o 23
•
Enhanced use expe ience: municipal web pages should p io i ize a use -cen ic
design, ensu ing easy na iga ion, engaging con en , and an in ui i e in e ace ha
encou ages ci izen pa icipa ion in go e nance p ocesses and access o online se ices.
•
In eg a ed se ices: E-go e nmen 3.0 en isions he seamless in eg a ion o public
se ices ac oss di e en depa men s and agencies, enabling ci izens o access se ices
mo e e icien ly. Municipal web pages can se e as one-s op po als, linking a ious
depa men s and o e ing access o mul iple se ices om a single pla o m.
•
Da a-d i en decision-making: Sma ci ies use da a o enhance decision-making and
op imize esou ce alloca ion. Municipal web pages can inco po a e da a analy ics ools
and dashboa ds ha p o ide insigh s in o u ban ends, pa e ns, and challenges, en-
abling local go e nmen s o make in o med decisions and o mula e a ge ed policies.
•
Open da a and anspa ency: E-go e nmen 3.0 emphasizes go e nance anspa ency
and openness. Municipal web pages can unc ion as pla o ms o sha ing open
da a, budge in o ma ion, and legisla i e upda es, p omo ing accoun abili y and
encou aging ci izen in ol emen in he decision-making p ocess.
•
Digi al pa icipa ion and collabo a ion: Municipal web pages can acili a e digi al pa -
icipa ion by o e ing online o ing, elec onic e e endums, and public consul a ions.
This enables ci izens o di ec ly in luence go e nance and os e s a sense o owne ship
and esponsibili y wi hin he communi y.
•
Based on Layne and Lee’s (2001) ou -s age model, ou indings indica e ha mos
Romanian municipali ies a e in he “T ansac ional” s age (e-Go 2.0), wi h some
la ge ci ies ansi ioning owa d “In eg a ed Se ices” (e-Go 3.0). Howe e , smalle
municipali ies emain in ea lie s ages (web p esence and in e ac ional se ices).
•While his s udy equen ly e e ences he ansi ion owa d e-Go 3.0 and he po en-
ial in eg a ion o AI in o public se ices, we mus cla i y ha no AI-speci ic indica o s
we e included in his yea ’s analysis. Despi e ac i ely in es iga ing municipal web-
si es and communica ions o e idence o AI deploymen (e.g., cha bo s, au oma ed
wo k lows, o decision suppo sys ems), we ound only isola ed and explo a o y
cases. These ea ly implemen a ions we e ei he no ope a ional a he ime o e al-
ua ion o lacked su icien scale o ele ance o include in a s uc u ed amewo k.
As such, hei exclusion was based on empi ical insu iciency a he han concep ual
o e sigh . Howe e , we an icipa e ha AI adop ion a he municipal le el will ollow
a ajec o y simila o social media in eg a ion, ha is, ini ially spa se and agmen ed
bu inc easingly no malized. Gi en he longi udinal na u e o ou esea ch, we plan o
e isi his analysis annually and will in oduce AI-speci ic indica o s when app op i-
a e, he eby s eng hening he link be ween Romania’s digi al in as uc u e and he
b oade e-Go 3.0 pa adigm.
The op imism associa ed wi h sma ci ies and e-go e nmen 3.0 can be seen in munic-
ipal web pages by adop ing ad anced echnologies, use -cen ic designs, and inno a i e
solu ions ha enhance ci izen engagemen , p omo e anspa ency, and s eamline pub-
lic se ices.
8. Discussions and Conclusions
This a icle examines he s a e o digi aliza ion in Romania h ough an analysis o
municipal websi es. Viewing he e olu ion o e-go e nmen as a py amidal s uc u e
o e ime, i can be a gued ha he in o ma ion and communica ion echnology (ICT)
sec o is p og essi ely ad ancing owa ds ma u i y. This ad ancemen se s he s age
o he o hcoming e-go e nmen 3.0, which is ma ked by he b oade in eg a ion o
a i icial in elligence (AI) ools in go e nmen ope a ions. The adop ion o AI is expec ed o
s eamline and enhance a ious p ocesses, he eby con ibu ing o he o e all de elopmen
Adm. Sci. 2025,15, 147 18 o 23
o he e-go e nmen landscape by educing adminis a i e bu dens, enhance public sec o
anspa ency, and inc ease se ice pe sonaliza ion, he eby imp o ing ci izens’ us in
ins i u ions. The me hodological con ibu ion o his s udy is wo old:
•
Municipali y-Le el Digi aliza ion Assessmen : unlike p e ious s udies ha ocus
on na ional o egional digi al go e nance ends, his esea ch e alua es digi al
se ices a he municipal le el, p o iding a mo e g anula and ac ionable pe spec i e
o policymake s.
•
Comp ehensi e E-Se ice E alua ion: By employing a i e-ca ego y amewo k, his
s udy b idges he gap be ween heo e ical e-go e nance ma u i y models and eal-
wo ld municipal se ice e alua ions (Table 7). This allows o a mo e p ecise bench-
ma king o Romanian municipali ies and o e s policy ecommenda ions ailo ed o
he local con ex .
Table 7. Compa ison o measu emen models o e-se ices.
F amewo k Scope Key Indica o s Limi a ions
Layne and Lee’s (2001)
Model Na ional and Theo e ical
S ages: in o ma ional,
ansac ional, and
in eg a ed
Focuses on na ional ends
and lacks ci izen
in e ac ion indica o s
UN E-Go e nmen Index
(EGDI) Global and Benchma king
Online se ices,
in as uc u e, and human
capi al
Agg ega es na ional da a
and does no assess
municipal a ia ion
Holze Model (2016) Digi al Go e nance
E alua ion
P i acy, usabili y, con en ,
se ices, and engagemen
Less emphasis on
au oma ion and AI-based
se ices
This S udy’s Model (2025) Municipali y-Le el
E alua ion
T anspa ency, e-documen s,
communica ion, p ac ical
con en , and gene ali ies
Tailo ed o Romanian
municipali ies and lacks
AI-speci ic indica o s
Da a sou ce: adap ed om Layne and Lee’s model, EGDI, and Holze .
Resea ch conduc ed in o he coun ies o en includes a b oade ange o indica o s,
such as online paymen s (Holze & Manoha an,2016;Hombu g & Dijkshoo n,2011;
Gonzalez e al.,2007), ci izen pa icipa ion in go e nance h ough elec onic o ing o e e -
endums (Tapsco ,2008;Chaieb e al.,2018), and online su eys o ga he public opinions
on po en ial ci y hall ac ions (Holze & Manoha an,2016;Hombu g & Dijkshoo n,2011).
A signi ican co ela ion is obse ed be ween he ou comes om each analy ical
ca ego y and he o e all esul (Table 8). Howe e , his s udy aimed o iden i y which
aspec had he mos subs an ial impac on he inal ou comes. Be o e applying Pea son
co ela ion, we conduc ed isual inspec ions h ough sca e plo s o assess he linea i y
o ela ionships be ween each analy ical ca ego y and he inal sco e. The da a exhibi ed
mode a ely linea pa e ns ac oss mos a iables. Addi ionally, we e i ied he absence
o signi ican ou lie s ha could ha e dis o ed he esul s. These p elimina y checks
suppo he app op ia eness o using Pea son co ela ion o his analysis. The ‘Gene ali ies’
ca ego y exhibi ed he lowes co ela ion a 0.295, p ima ily because websi es a e o en
de eloped in-house by non-p o essionals, leading o he omission o many c ucial ea u es.
Based on he indings o his s udy, Romanian municipali ies a e p og essing owa d
e-Go 3.0 bu emain in an ea ly de elopmen al s age. The widesp ead adop ion o digi al
ools, such as e-pe i ioning, online ax paymen s, and social media in eg a ion, demons a es
an inc easing commi men o ci izen engagemen . Howe e , AI-enabled se ices, cha bo s,
and p edic i e analy ics a e s ill absen om mos municipal pla o ms, indica ing ha
Romanian municipali ies a e p ima ily ope a ing a he ad anced e-Go 2.0 s age a he
Adm. Sci. 2025,15, 147 19 o 23
han ully ansi ioning o e-Go 3.0, which demons a es ha while Romania has made
signi ican s ides in digi al go e nance, ull in eg a ion in o he e-Go 3.0 model equi es
u he in es men in AI, da a in e ope abili y, and au oma ion.
Table 8. Co ela ion be ween he inal esul and he classes o analysis.
Class Analyzed Pea son Co ela ion wi h he Final Resul s (Cj and Ms)
T anspa ency 0.740
E-Documen s 0.845
Communica ion 0.543
Use ul con en 0.842
Gene ali ies 0.295
Da a sou ce: au ho s’ own compiled da a.
While his s udy p ima ily ocuses on he echnical and ope a ional aspec s o digi al
se ices, he economic and social e ec s o digi aliza ion should also be acknowledged.
These e ec s align wi h OECD’s esea ch on e-go e nmen ’s ole in economic de elopmen
(OECD,2022,2024) and a e e iden in h ee key a eas:
•
Local Economic G ow h: digi al ans o ma ion op imizes adminis a i e p ocesses,
educing bu eauc a ic bu dens o businesses and esiden s.
•
Employmen and wo k o ce implica ions: he ansi ion o e-go e nmen 3.0 in o-
duces bo h e iciencies and challenges in he public sec o wo k o ce.
•
Digi al inclusion and social equi y: despi e imp o emen s in online municipal se ices,
he digi al di ide emains a conce n in Romania.
A e e iewing he p esen s udy, one can obse e he need o s anda dized digi al
se ice guidelines. The go e nmen should implemen a na ional s anda d o municipal
digi al se ices o educe dispa i ies be ween ci ies, while he municipal s a should ecei e
p o essional aining on websi e de elopmen , usabili y, and ci izen engagemen s a egies.
Ne e heless, na ional and EU unds should p io i ize digi iza ion p ojec s in weake
egions (no heas and sou h) o educe he digi al di ide.
This s udy p o ides a ounda ion, bu u he esea ch is needed o cap u e he ull
spec um o e-go e nmen ma u i y. To complemen his esea ch, u u e s udies will inco -
po a e use -cen e ed e alua ion me hods such as use adop ion and sa is ac ion me ics
( h ough sen imen analysis on ci izens eedback) and impac assessmen s by compa ing
municipali ies wi h s ong s. weak e-go e nmen ma u i y o see i digi aliza ion educes
adminis a i e bu dens and highe digi aliza ion co ela es wi h inc eased public us and
pa icipa ion in local go e nance.
Funding: This esea ch ecei ed no ex e nal unding.
Ins i u ional Re iew Boa d S a emen : No applicable.
In o med Consen S a emen : No applicable.
Da a A ailabili y S a emen : The o iginal con ibu ions p esen ed in his s udy a e included in he
a icle. Fu he inqui ies can be di ec ed o he au ho .
Acknowledgmen s: The p esen s udy builds upon a la ge and longs anding esea ch ini ia i e ha
began in 2010, wi h ounda ional s udies published in he Sma Ci ies and Regional De elopmen
(SCRD) Impac S udies pla o m (SCRD A chi e). The ini ia i e aims o p o ide na ional-le el
esea ch, da a, and insigh s o suppo policymake s in o mula ing and enhancing policies a ound
he concep o sma ci ies. Rela ed s udies can also be ound in o he epu able scien i ic pla o ms,
such as he ACM Digi al Lib a y, a Xi , and simila eposi o ies. The cu en wo k is posi ioned as
a con inua ion, upda e, and supplemen a y analysis o hese ea lie publica ions. Any pe cei ed
Adm. Sci. 2025,15, 147 20 o 23
simila i ies in me hodology, wo ding, o s uc u e a e due o he adhe ence o a speci ic esea ch
design and o ma ha has been consis en ly applied h oughou his se ies o main ain cohe ence,
compa abili y, and/o compa ison.
Con lic s o In e es : The au ho decla es no con lic s o in e es .
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