Breaking through barriers: the impact of organizational culture on open government reform

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of organizational culture on open government reforms by developing a theoretical framework bridging the theory and practice gap.

Design/methodology/approach

An exploratory qualitative study consisting of a document analysis and a case study was conducted.

Findings

An open organizational culture is a precursor to effective open government. A network strategy as a facilitator for developing an open culture was used in one US federal agency, breaking across boundaries within the organization, creating greater symmetrical horizontal and vertical openness.

Originality/value

Much of the focus in both theory and practice has been on the use of technology as a vehicle to increase government openness. This study argues that a movement toward openness is beyond the technical. Organizational culture is a key to openness and may need to be changed. A networks strategy may be one way to facilitate a transformation to a more open culture.

Citation

Ruijer, E.H.J.M. and Huff, R.F. (2016), "Breaking through barriers: the impact of organizational culture on open government reform", Transforming Government: People, Process and Policy, Vol. 10 No. 2, pp. 335-350. https://doi.org/10.1108/TG-07-2015-0028