Operational transparency in government social media communication: Two survey experiments on representation, engagement, and collaboration

Government social media enhances transparency by sharing operational information about government activities and processes; yet, little is known about how the public responds to the disclosure of such operational information. Drawing on the literature on operational transparency, this paper examines whether operational transparency can help fulfill the primary goals of government social media use: representation, engagement, and collaboration. We conducted two survey experiments with broadly representative U.S. online samples. Results from Study 1 ( n = 1003) and Study 2 ( n = 1594) suggest that operational transparency can achieve a better understanding of how the government works. Furthermore, operational transparency fosters favorable perceptions of government performance in time-sensitive operations. However, operational transparency demonstrates limited influence on boosting engagement and collaboration intentions. Implications for transparency and social media communication research and practices are discussed. • Operational transparency serves functions beyond mere information provision. • Citizens better understand government activities when exposed to operational transparency. • Operational transparency fosters more favorable performance perceptions in time-sensitive areas. • Engagement and collaboration do not necessarily increase with operational transparency.