Providing a Model of New Public Services with an Emphasis on the Internet of Things in the Mashhad Electricity Distribution Company

In the era of advanced technologies, transformation in the delivery of public services—especially in infrastructural sectors such as electricity distribution—is an undeniable necessity. Given the rapid development of modern technologies and the need to enhance the efficiency and quality of services, electricity distribution companies must continuously update and optimize their operational processes. This transformation not only contributes to increased customer satisfaction but also leads to overall improvement in energy network performance and cost reduction. In this context, the Internet of Things (IoT), as a key technology, offers new capabilities for data collection and analysis, resource management, and service optimization. This study aims to present a novel model for public services in the Mashhad Electricity Distribution Company with a particular emphasis on the application of the Internet of Things. The present study is applied-developmental in nature and employed a qualitative meta-synthesis approach to achieve the research objective. Subsequently, the reliability of the identified dimensions was examined through the Delphi analysis method. Finally, in the quantitative phase, the most influential components of new public services with an emphasis on IoT were determined using Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM). The qualitative findings revealed four main categories (enabling factors, service factors, IoT-related factors, and outcomes of public services), twelve key concepts (technical factors, non-technical factors, quality of modern services, remote services, electronic relationship management, data and telemetry systems, security and control systems, integrated management systems, smart distribution, employee quality of life, customer experience enhancement, and productivity of the electricity distribution company), and sixty-nine primary codes. Quantitative results indicated that the components of technical and non-technical factors possess higher driving power compared to other elements of the model. The findings of this research clearly demonstrate that the implementation of new public services—particularly those leveraging advanced technologies such as the Internet of Things—can act as a key driver in transforming the electricity distribution industry. In the era of advanced technologies, transformation in the delivery of public services—especially in infrastructural sectors such as electricity distribution—is an undeniable necessity. Given the rapid development of modern technologies and the need to enhance the efficiency and quality of services, electricity distribution companies must continuously update and optimize their operational processes. This transformation not only contributes to increased customer satisfaction but also leads to overall improvement in energy network performance and cost reduction. In this context, the Internet of Things (IoT), as a key technology, offers new capabilities for data collection and analysis, resource management, and service optimization. This study aims to present a novel model for public services in the Mashhad Electricity Distribution Company with a particular emphasis on the application of the Internet of Things. The present study is applied-developmental in nature and employed a qualitative meta-synthesis approach to achieve the research objective. Subsequently, the reliability of the identified dimensions was examined through the Delphi analysis method. Finally, in the quantitative phase, the most influential components of new public services with an emphasis on IoT were determined using Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM). The qualitative findings revealed four main categories (enabling factors, service factors, IoT-related factors, and outcomes of public services), twelve key concepts (technical factors, non-technical factors, quality of modern services, remote services, electronic relationship management, data and telemetry systems, security and control systems, integrated management systems, smart distribution, employee quality of life, customer experience enhancement, and productivity of the electricity distribution company), and sixty-nine primary codes. Quantitative results indicated that the components of technical and non-technical factors possess higher driving power compared to other elements of the model. The findings of this research clearly demonstrate that the implementation of new public services—particularly those leveraging advanced technologies such as the Internet of Things—can act as a key driver in transforming the electricity distribution industry.

کلیدواژه ها:

Internet of Things ، new public services ، electricity distribution industry ، Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) ، smart distribution