Collaboration and Influence: The Role of a Tech Company in Urban Platform Development

IF 2.7 Q2 PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

Journal of Public Affairs Pub Date : 2025-04-15 DOI:10.1002/pa.70031

Arif Budy Pratama

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Abstract

Urban platforms play an important role in supporting the delivery of smart city initiatives. However, the collaborative processes involving urban politics during the development of such platforms are often overlooked. The present study asks how a city government and a tech company collaborate to develop an urban platform through a smart city mobile application (app). The analysis focuses on Magelang Smart City (Magesty), a mobile app for urban services initiated by the Magelang City government. Employing a case study research design, a series of in-depth interviews involving representatives from the local government and the tech company who collaborated in developing Magesty between August 2020 and January 2021 revealed the significant influence of the tech company in shaping the platform. This finding highlights the recent fad of platformization in cities, driven by private sector involvement, which reflects technocratic, neoliberal, and de-political approaches. Consequently, adopting a more participatory and citizen-centered approach to urban platform development becomes increasingly urgent to better address the needs of city residents.

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协作与影响：科技公司在城市平台发展中的作用

城市平台在支持智慧城市倡议的实施方面发挥着重要作用。然而，在这些平台的发展过程中，涉及城市政治的协作过程往往被忽视。本研究探讨了市政府和科技公司如何通过智能城市移动应用程序（app）合作开发城市平台。分析的重点是马格朗智慧城市（Magesty），这是马格朗市政府发起的城市服务移动应用程序。采用案例研究设计，对当地政府和在2020年8月至2021年1月期间合作开发Magesty的科技公司的代表进行了一系列深入访谈，揭示了科技公司在塑造平台方面的重大影响。这一发现凸显了最近由私营部门参与推动的城市平台化热潮，这反映了技术官僚、新自由主义和去政治的方法。因此，为了更好地满足城市居民的需求，采用更具参与性和以市民为中心的城市平台开发方法变得越来越迫切。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Journal of Public Affairs PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION-

CiteScore

7.10

自引率

3.80%

发文量

期刊介绍： The Journal of Public Affairs provides an international forum for refereed papers, case studies and reviews on the latest developments, practice and thinking in government relations, public affairs, and political marketing. The Journal is guided by the twin objectives of publishing submissions of the utmost relevance to the day-to-day practice of communication specialists, and promoting the highest standards of intellectual rigour.