“Data stickiness” in interagency government data sharing: a case study

The provision of high-quality e-Government services requires efficient and collaborative sharing of data across varied types of government agencies. However, interagency government data sharing (IDS) is not always spontaneous, active and unconditional. Adopting a stickiness theory, this paper reports on a research study, which explores the causes of data stickiness in IDS.

This study employed an inductive case study approach. Twenty-three officials from the government of City M in Hubei Province, Central China, were approached and interviewed using a semi-structured question script.

The analysis of the interview data pointed to 27 causes of data stickiness in five main themes: data sharing willingness; data sharing ability; data articulatability; data residence; and data absorptive capacity. The analysis revealed that interagency tensions and lack of preparedness of individual agencies are the main causes of data stickiness in IDS.

The case setting is based on China's Government, but the findings offer useful insights and indications that can be shared across international borders.