Urban Economics and Planning

Urban Economics and Planning

Designing an Optimal Model of Resource Management Based on Good Urban Governance

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Mohammad Hassan Keighobadi 1
Ali Farhadi Mahalli 2
Masoud Ahmadi 3
1 Ph.D Candidate, Public Administration, Faculty of Humanities, Sari Branch, Islamic Azad University, Sari, Iran
2 Assistant Professor, Department of Public Administration, Faculty of Humanities, Gorgan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Gorgan, Iran
3 Assistant Professor, Department of Public Administration, Faculty of Humanities, Sari Branch, Islamic Azad University, Sari, Iran
10.22034/uep.2024.476792.1536
Abstract
Introduction 
One of the basic issues in urban management is revenue management in the municipality. On the other hand, the upstream documents specifically emphasize the financial independence of municipalities based on paragraph b of note 52 of the law. This created an accelerated movement by which municipalities have turned to unstable and short-term income generation. In general, municipal financing sources can be divided into two categories: internal and external sources. Internal financial resources include cash flows from operating activities, asset sales, and accumulated profits, and external financial resources include funds acquired through the financial market, such as issuing bonds, issuing new shares, and receiving facilities. One of the foundational approaches in sustainable urban income generation is the growth and development of good urban governance. Creating new businesses with high added value, developing existing businesses, promoting economic growth and social welfare, reducing the unemployment rate, and finally increasing per capita production and establishing social justice are among the achievements of good urban governance. It seems that according to the existing arrangements and various sources for financing described, there is a potential possibility of generating income and financing. The main issue is how to manage finances and income sources and expenses properly. In this context, good urban governance, relying on the principles of participation, transparency, rule of law, responsibility, accountability, and effectiveness, has provided the necessary mechanisms for managing the revenue sources of municipalities. Suppose the financial management of the municipality is in harmony with the goals of good urban governance. In that case, the regulation of financial inflows and outflows in this institution will not be far from expected and accessible. Therefore, good urban governance must be relied on to create sustainable income for city managers and citizens. This issue is also worthy of attention from a negative point of view because continuing the current situation can lead to the spread of financial corruption, injustice in the distribution of urban facilities, and citizens’ dissatisfaction, which will bring destructive and long-term effects. From a theoretical point of view, the significant number of articles indexed in the country’s scientific journals shows that the categories of “municipal revenue sources” and “good urban governance” have an important position. Of course, the main research gap is that a combined study regarding the role of good governance in the financial management of the municipal institution has been neglected from the researchers’ point of view. Therefore, according to the existing research gap in this study, both categories will be addressed together with an integrated approach. In other words, the contribution of the research and theoretical synergy of the present study is the attention to the management of revenue resources of municipalities based on good urban governance. Therefore, this study is an attempt to fill the research gap in the field of managing revenue resources of municipalities based on good urban governance with an approach based on an exploratory research design that covers the research gap. The present study will answer this key question: how is the management model of municipalities’ revenue resources based on good urban governance?
Materials and Methods
This study is an applied-developmental research conducted to design and validate the revenue resource management model in line with good urban governance in municipalities. Based on the data collection method, it is considered a cross-sectional survey. To achieve the research goal, an exploratory mixed research design was used. The community of participants in the qualitative section includes experts, professors, and general actors present in public and non-governmental institutions and organizations involved in developing these municipal financial policies. Based on the view of Miller et al. (2010), five criteria of keyness, popularity, theoretical knowledge, diversity, and participation motivation were used to select participants. Sampling was done using a purposeful method, and theoretical saturation was obtained from 15 interviews. The statistical population of the quantitative part includes all the actors present in public and non-governmental institutions and organizations involved in the process of
 formulating these financial policies of municipalities. The sample size was estimated to be 384 people using Cochran’s formula, and since the statistical population is homogeneous, simple random sampling was used for sampling in the quantitative part. The main tools for collecting research data are semi-structured interviews and researcher-made questionnaires. The interview consisted of 5 basic questions and was conducted in a semi-structured way. The research questionnaire includes nine main constructs and 64 items with a five-point Likert scale. Content validity (opinion from experts) was used to measure the validity of the questionnaire, and its validity was confirmed. Also, the total Cronbach’s alpha of the questionnaire was 0.856 in a preliminary study. After distributing the questionnaire to the selected sample, the validity of the questionnaire was checked using three methods: construct validity (external model), convergent validity (AVE), and divergent validity. AVE value for all variables should be greater than 0.5. Composite reliability (CR) and Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of each factor were calculated to calculate the reliability. Thematic analysis was used to identify the categories of revenue resource management models that are in line with good urban governance in municipalities. The partial least squares method was used to validate the model. Data analysis was done in the qualitative phase with Maxqda software and in the quantitative phase with Smart PLS software.
Findings
In the findings section, the interviews were conducted using thematic analysis based on the six-step Ethrid-Sterling method. In the open coding stage, 1441 codes were identified. Through axial coding, two overarching themes, nine main themes, and 64 secondary themes were obtained. The factor loadings are greater than 0.6 in all cases, and the t statistic is greater than 1.96 in all cases. Therefore, the measurement part of the model is valid. And the coefficient of determination of the endogenous structures of the research model is favorable. The value of the determination coefficient of the municipality’s revenue resource management was estimated at 0.814. This shows that the variables of the model have been able to explain 81% of the changes in the management of municipal revenue resources. The index (Q^2) was also estimated to be positive in all cases, so the model has good predictive ability.
Conclusion
Research results showed that good urban governance affects urban planning, public culture, and meritocracy systems. These factors also affect the optimization of municipal tax and toll laws and municipal financial management tasks and lead to achieving sustainable financial resources and sustainable urban development. Finally, obtaining financial resources and sustainable development leads to the management of sustainable municipal income resources.
Keywords
Good Governance
Resource Management
Tehran Municipality
Urban Management

Subjects

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Urban Economics and Planning
Volume 5, Issue 3
Summer 2024
Pages 232-246

  • Receive Date 08 September 2024
  • Revise Date 06 November 2024
  • Accept Date 12 November 2024