The factors influencing the effectiveness of policy implementation: Insights from social media analysis during the COVID-19 crisis in the UK

In the era of social media, the effective implementation of governmental policies has become increasingly crucial for achieving desired outcomes and addressing societal issues. Public discourse surrounding these policies often generate negative and misleading influences that can hinder their successful execution. A lack of understanding of the factors that drive policy success undermines policymakers' ability to design effective interventions for managing public events. Therefore, this thesis aims to investigate the dynamics influencing the implementation performance of policies, contributing not only to the academic literature but also offering practical implications for enhancing public welfare and the efficacy of governmental policies. The central research question focuses on exploring the factors that influence the effectiveness of policy implementation. Utilizing data mining techniques, the thesis extracts 144K Twitter posts from the United Kingdom and employs research methods, including regression analysis, machine learning, and text data analysis, to comprehensively examine the underlying dynamics. Consequently, this thesis has discovered that minimizing certain public emotions can enhance policy effectiveness, thereby facilitating improved implementation outcomes. Besides, the thesis advises policymakers that increasing the volume of detailed descriptions of protective behaviours and implementing strategies aimed at cultivating public trust can reduce misinformation about government policies. Furthermore, the thesis reveals the diverse impacts of risk perceptions on policy implementation performance, suggesting that risks perceived at individual, group, and societal levels should be addressed differently to achieve optimal policy implementation outcomes. Overall, this thesis makes a significant theoretical contribution through a novel investigation of the impact of public emotions and varying risk perceptions on policy performance, which enriches the existing literature in information systems, public management, and social media data analysis. Moreover, this thesis advocates for implementing more targeted measures for managing misinformation, providing practical implications that aid policymakers in navigating challenges and enhancing management effectiveness during similar crisis scenarios in the future.