Towards a knowledge-based services framework from the value cocreation in public services: the case of the public transport services in the South of Brazil

Abstract

Recent studies have shown that the efficiency measure of public services organizations is no longer sufficient to satisfy citizens and guarantee the society's welfare and should be achieved from the public value, with a focus on citizens. For this reason, a growing demand to consider the citizens as value co-creators within public services systems has reinforced the importance of developing knowledge that can assist in analyzing and designing such service systems. In a knowledge society, the citizen is an essential actor to help develop knowledge-based solutions to social problems, specifically what concerns public services. Therefore, citizens can contribute by mobilizing their personal knowledge and engage in the co-production of public services as value co-creators of the service ecosystem and, consequently, help improve the public value achieved to all citizenry, resulting in knowledge-based public services. This research approached the service-dominant logic and personal knowledge mobilization theories as a starting point. It aimed to propose a conceptual framework of knowledge-based public services for smart cities from mobilizing citizens' personal knowledge in the value co-creation of public services. The empirical object selected for this study was services managed by the municipal government or municipal public services, more specifically, the collective public transport services of Caxias do Sul. The research method used to meet the objectives adopted a qualitative approach with descriptive and exploratory objectives. The single case study method was chosen, and data collection techniques for data triangulation included semi-structured interviews, secondary data, and direct observation. For the interviews, ten interviewees were selected, including representatives of the municipal management and the public transport service concessionaire, followed by representatives of civil organizations and professionals with experience in this service. The second step of the methodological procedures corresponded to the content analysis of secondary data provided by the Municipal Secretariat of Traffic, Transportation, and Mobility (SMTTM ) from citizens' statements at "Alô Caxias". Finally, the direct observation happened during the Municipal Forum for Popular Evaluation of the Public Transportation System at the Union of Neighborhood Associations of Caxias do Sul headquarters. From the data collection, data analyses were performed using content analysis with the software ATLAS.ti 22 and Excel 2019. Besides answering the objectives proposed in this thesis, a conceptual framework of knowledge-based public services was presented. Theoretically, the study expanded the discussions surrounding the service-dominant logic theory by approaching the concepts of engagement and co-production. It also identified emerging categories that compose the knowledge-based public services framework that aims to support municipal management to engage citizens in planning, design, and delivery of services, as active agents of this process. Of the emerging categories identified, communication and leadership were the most significant, which can give the municipal management directions to raise citizens' awareness of their role in service co-production. [resumo fornecido pelo autor]