Smartphones, publics, and OPR: Do publics want to engage?

•This study focuses on the actual usage of smartphones, as well as users’ willingness to engage with organizations via smartphones.•Interaction between organizations and publics through smartphones exists, but at a lower rate compared to other activities.•Users perceive engagement as beneficial primarily for organizations.•The findings emphasize the importance of practicing participatory engagement rather than one-way engagement.

Smartphones offer new opportunities for public-organization engagement. The current study focuses on the actual usage of smartphones, as well as users’ willingness to engage with organizations via smartphones. A survey among a representative sample of 515 Israeli smartphone users, and 60 personal, in-depth interviews with undergraduate students were conducted. The findings show that interaction between organizations and publics through smartphones exists, but at a lower rate compared to other activities, and that users perceive engagement as beneficial primarily for organizations but as less beneficial to themselves. The findings also emphasize the importance of practicing participatory engagement rather than one-way engagement.