Value Creation in Open Government Data : A Case Study of Swedish Municipality Open Data Platform

Abstract: The concept of open data in the public sector is not new, and governments have long beenthe primary producers and collectors of data in a variety of sectors. Despite this, previousresearch mostly focused on private open data and only a limited number of studies haveaddressed public sector open data. This research gap serves as the reference point of thisstudy and addresses the value creation in public sector open data. To address this, theauthors conducted a qualitative case study on the Swedish municipality’s open dataplatform. Accordingly, the authors identified values created from the municipality’s opendata. Transparency and accountability, citizen participation and interaction to achievegovernment goals, better decision-making, economic growth, achievement ofenvironmental and sustainable goals, increased collaboration between differentdepartments within the municipality, and knowledge sharing are some of the values. Thisstudy contributes to the growing empirical knowledge on value creation in open data andprovides insights to local municipalities operating open data platforms.