Ignorance is bliss? An empirical analysis of the determinants of PSS usefulness in practice

The Effects of Contextual Factors on PSS Usefulness: an International Questionnaire Survey

“…Thus, an effective way to achieve planning support is to apply the informationhandling capabilities of a PSS to support specific professional spatial-planning tasks (Luque-Martín and Pfeffer 2020;McEvoy et al 2019;Zhang et al 2019). Several authors (e.g., Jiang et al 2020a;Vonk 2006) categorized these information-handling capabilities into three groups: informing, communicating, and analyzing & designing.…”

“…Usability refers to "how well users can use that [functionality]" (Nielsen 1994:24). It indicates the goodness of fit between the capabilities of the user and the functionalities offered by the technology (Jiang et al 2020a). In general, a high level of usability will lead to the more usefulness of a PSS.…”

“…Studies also tend to emphasize the importance of improving PSS functionalities and usability in optimizing PSS usefulness Silva et al 2017;Pelzer 2017). Thus, there has been much argument that PSS validity and potential would benefit from being employed in a context-rich, real-world research scenario, as well as much lobbying for such employment (Jiang et al 2020a(Jiang et al , 2020cLuque-Martín and Pfeffer 2020;McEvoy et al 2019;Zhang et al 2019;Vonk and Geertman 2008), since it would provide PSS with "a structure [to] constructively develop a coherent and comprehensive body of knowledge" (te Brömmelstroet 2013: 306). In the present study, we conducted a survey to determine the multidimensional impact of contextual factors on the usefulness of PSS in smart city practices.…”

“…In the present study, we conducted a survey to determine the multidimensional impact of contextual factors on the usefulness of PSS in smart city practices. Although PSS usefulness consists of different levels and dimensions, we applied the subjective perception of the overall satisfaction of the supportive role of PSS in practice-"overall usefulness"-to measure PSS usefulness (Jiang et al 2020a).…”

“…By capturing, analyzing, and integrating this real-time and up-to-date data into various types of PSS, spatial analyses related to the realm of urban planning in the city (e.g., energy consumption, land use, traffic congestion, energy usage, and air quality) are improved substantially (Rathore et al 2016;Khan et al 2015). Besides, ICTs and big data can also be used to enhance PSS's capabilities for extending and transforming somewhat conventional citizens' participation practices, and for facilitating technology-facilitated communication and interplay between the formal political sphere (government) and the civil society sphere (citizens) (Jiang et al 2019(Jiang et al , 2020aKhan et al 2014). For instance, show that urban informatics augmented by new smart data enhance the sharing of information to the general public and make planning processes more participatory and democratic, especially for disadvantaged groups.…”