Does Mobile Technology Integration Enhance Complaint Resolution Efficiency and Equity? An Empirical Study of How an Omnichannel Approach Affects Speed of Resolution of Government Service Requests

This paper examines how the integration of mobile touchpoints with existing technologies affects the efficiency and equity of crowd-sourcing of nonemergency complaints for cities. We analyze the City of Boston’s effort to integrate multiple technological touchpoints for residents to report nonemergency complaints and request city services. In 2015, Boston integrated its existing citizen app with its phone and website services into a single unified “311” service, where complaints would be handled consistently regardless of submission channel. This was among the first efforts in the United States to bring an omnichannel approach to public services. We document that this change had an unexpected effect. Before the omnichannel integration, though the app performed less well than other channels, it actually appeared to provide more equitable service for higher- and lower-income neighborhoods compared with other channels. After the integration, the app’s expanded complaint options led residents to use it more often for code-enforcement complaints against other residents. The mobile app enabled faster resolution of enforcement complaints, especially in wealthier areas with signs of gentrification. The pattern appears to be driven by the economics of density: residents in wealthier neighborhoods are more likely to submit multiple enforcement requests simultaneously. Complaints requiring citations were processed more quickly when related requests came from geographically concentrated areas rather than dispersed locations.

History: Peiyu Chen, Senior Editor; Mohammad Rahman, Associate Editor.

Supplemental Material: The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/isre.2022.0159.