Calvin Meng Lai Chan

E-government implementation: A macro analysis of Singapore's e-government initiatives

Abstract This paper offers a macro perspective of the various activities involved in the implementation of e-government through an interpretive analysis of the various e-government-related initiatives undertaken by the Singapore Government. The analysis lead to the identification of four main components in the implementation of e-government, namely (i) information content, (ii) ICT infrastructure, (iii) e-government infostructure, and (iv) e-government promotion. These four components were then conceptually integrated into the e-Government Implementation Framework. This paper suggests that this framework can either be used as a descriptive tool to organize and coordinate various e-government initiatives, or be used as a prescriptive structure to plan and strategize e-government implementation. Moreover, specific insights on each of the four components were also generated to provide further learning points to e-government practitioners.

Recognition and participation in a virtual community

Although recognition counts among the numerous factors that contribute towards the success of virtual communities, it has received little attention in both academic and practitioner studies. Adopting the theory of information sharing as the conceptual foundation, this interpretive case study examines the effect of recognition on participation in a virtual community for academic dress. Results indicate that there exist three different forms of perceived recognition in a virtual community, namely identity, expertise and tangible recognition. The study also highlights that a link exists across these forms of recognition, their effects, and participation. Implications for community organizers and researchers are discussed.

From Open Data to Open Innovation Strategies: Creating E-Services Using Open Government Data

Noting the need to extend the corpus of knowledge on open government data initiatives, especially on the strategies to facilitate and attract businesses and citizens to participate, collaborate and re-use open government data, this paper presents a research-in-progress case study on an open data initiative by the Singapore Government. Preliminary findings indicate that open innovation can be gainfully employed to realize the underlying motivation of open data initiatives. This research also builds upon existing study in open innovation strategies. It posits a set of considerations to develop the open government data portal into an open innovation platform. It also establishes a set of considerations for enticing businesses and citizens to create e-services that leverage on the datasets available from the portal. Implications to both research and practice of open government data initiatives are presented. The paper concludes with a discussion on the future research direction of this study.

User engagement in e-government systems implementation: A comparative case study of two Singaporean e-government initiatives

Noting that user engagement is a key issue in e-government systems implementation and that the actual form and strategies of user engagement, especially within the context of e-government, is poorly defined, this paper intends to contribute to the research and practice of e-government systems implementation by conducting a comparative case study of two e-government systems implementation within a single government agency in Singapore. The comparative analysis of these two e-government systems implementation was accomplished through using stakeholder theory as a sense-making theoretical lens. This generated four findings pertaining to the form and strategies of user engagement in e-government systems implementation.

Managing e-Government system implementation: a resource enactment perspective

The research presents a theoretical and empirical analysis of an e-Government system implementation. The resource-based view and the enactment concept were leveraged as a theoretical sense-making lens to study the system through its planning, development and operation phases. Consequently, a process model of resource enactment was developed to theorize how organizational resources were mobilized for successful implementation. It was found that the environmental climate at each phase gave rise to a particular focal capability. This was developed through the symbiotic enactment of a focal resource in conjunction with other complementary resources. Specifically, knowledge, social and leadership resources were found to be pertinently enacted in developing the focal capabilities. When observed across the phases, such symbiotic enactment of complementary resources followed a co-evolutionary path. The empirical research was conducted through a qualitative case analysis. This research would therefore be of interest to both academics and practitioners as it contributes to cumulative theoretical development and provides practical grounded insights to inform and advance e-Government system implementation.

Managing knowledge conflicts in an interorganizational project: A case study of the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore

As knowledge gains currency as a critical resource in the information-intensive economy, organizations have doubled their efforts to extract value from knowledge management endeavors, including the creation of interorganizational knowledge alliances. One particular aspect of such knowledge partnerships that has gone unnoticed in academic research is the presence of conflicts in knowledge activities. By adopting a conflict perspective of knowledge management in an interorganizational context, this study arrives at a two-dimensional framework that defines knowledge conflicts in terms of their type and nature. Central to this article is the fundamental notion that conflicts form an integral part of knowledge management, and depending on how they are managed, conflicts may be formidable partners or dangerous adversaries in the corporate quest for a holistic knowledge strategy.

Enterprise System as an Orchestrator of Dynamic Capability Development: A Case Study of the IRAS and TechCo

Corporations are perpetually hunting for ways to develop exclusive, sustainable, and competitive advantages that will enable them to leapfrog ahead of their industrial adversaries. Notably, the debut of enterprise systems (ES) during the recent decade has given rise to frequent talk of the utilization of integrative, IT-inspired business mechanisms to achieve the much sought-after but elusive competitive edge. Others, however, have argued that the search for sustainable competitiveness should instead be anchored in organizational efforts to cultivate and build up firm-specific dynamic capabilities. Cognizant of the various perspectives, this paper takes a holistic approach in proposing the achievement of sustainable competitive advantages by examining the manner in which ES adoption can contribute to the forging of dynamic capabilities. In particular, Montealegre’s (2002) process model of capability development is adopted as the analytical framework to explore the strategization of ES development in two different organizations, with the main distinction being that one of them subscribes to commercially available SAP applications while the other chooses to develop its ES in-house. Through comparing and contrasting evidence from both cases, this study attempts to decipher how ES adoption can be strategized to develop strategic capabilities and understand the implications between off-the-shelf and bespoke ES in affecting the process of dynamic capability development.

Unequal access: Applying Bourdieu's practice theory to illuminate the challenges of ICT use among senior citizens in Singapore

The following article examines the application of Pierre Bourdieus Practice Theory in accounting for ongoing disparities in accessing information and communications technology (ICT) in Singapore among senior citizens. As the relevance of Practice Theory is increasingly recognized among both scholars of ICT and ageing studies in modern societies, this article seeks to further contextualize and demonstrate its theoretical relevance and explanatory potential within developed, multicultural and rapidly ageing societies such as Singapore. Qualitative data collected from focus group discussions and personal in-depth interviews are analyzed to gain insights into how older adults above the age of 55 in Singapore perceive and use ICT. While it is argued that unequal access to forms of capital - be they social, cultural, economic, symbolic or bodily - has an obvious role in impacting the construction of ones habitus within the field of ICT usage, our findings reveal that not all forms of capital exert a similar impact on the accessibility of ICT. The discussions and interviews suggest that social and cultural capital play a relatively more fundamental role. While the increasingly easy-to-use and economically affordable nature of ICT has made it more accessible, our findings indicate that many older persons in Singapore still lack the necessary educational backgrounds, linguistic skills and supportive social networks that facilitate easier access. Such insights ultimately have implications on the nature of efforts by the state to create a more digitally inclusive society in Singapore.

Social Media Use Among Teenagers in Brunei Darussalam

This paper presents a study on the use of social media among teenagers in Brunei Darussalam. The aim is not merely to reveal the social media usage behavior of teenagers in Brunei Darussalam, but also to illustrate the benefits and challenges brought about by social media usage among youths in the social-cultural context of Brunei Darussalam and its national ideology of Malay Islam Monarchy. Four findings of social networking, romantic intimacy, social media addiction, and cyberbullying are presented and the corresponding social-cultural implications and interventions are discussed. It is hoped that such awareness of how social media usage among youth is perceived in a different social-cultural context will bring about greater mutual understanding in this increasingly divisive world.