Commitment and trust: fostering socio-economic development through voluntary data exchange between governmental and commercial entities

Purpose: This paper aims to present the results of a project deployment on voluntary data exchange between a municipality and commercial entities built on the Commitment-Trust theory. The research also discovers whether data sharing can be a vital instrument to foster city socio-economic development. Design/methodology/approach: Inspired by the engaged scholarship approach, this research explores the economic and operational results of data integration from two different information sources, the legislation impact and the effects on citizens as final beneficiaries. Over a period of 27 months, the authors observed changes the voluntary data sharing brings in traditional interaction between multiple ecosystems. The impact of positive and negative factors was validated via 12 exit interviews with key stakeholders. Findings: Voluntary data sharing is driven by parties’ goodwill to improve public services for residents, the organisations gain tremendously much more benefits than they can do separately on their own. When the parties commit to voluntarily share data, this increases trust in each other and the responsibility of each data contributor. This research proposes that the Commitment-Trust theory is well-replicable for the government-to-business relationship. Originality/value: This research contributes to the current body of knowledge of voluntary data exchange between different ecosystems, especially between a government and its environment. This paper presents a relevant project deployment from an emerging economy and its consequences for a city municipality, businesses and residents.