Open government research over a decade: A systematic review

Academic studies of open government have flourished in the last decade. Nevertheless, comprehensive reviews of open government have been limited. This research gap not only impedes our understanding of the overall body of knowledge on open government but also hinders the advancement of existing practices. To address this gap, this article systematically reviews 189 studies published from 2008 to 2019. Guiding this review are the central research questions: (1) How has the concept of open government been defined and conceptualized in the literature? (2) How is open government being used and implemented? (3) What outcomes or impacts are attributed to open government initiatives? This research found that open government is generally conceptualized as a new governing structure emphasizing both transparency (vision) and public participation (voice). However, it also identifies a “transparency-driven focus” for both the case selection of academic studies and practical implementation, which represents a gap between open government theory and practice. This research also reveals the lack of empirical evidence regarding the effects of open government and highlights methodological concerns of prior studies. The article concludes with a discussion on future research.