Helle Zinner Henriksen

E-government maturity models : Extension of the Layne and Lee model

The article proposes a reorientation of the e-government maturity models by focusing IT applications to improve the core activities and bring end-users as the key stakeholders for future e-government investments. The proposed Public Sector Process Rebuilding (PPR) maturity model is an extension of the Layne and Lee model.

Research on information systems failures and successes: Status update and future directions

Information systems success and failure are among the most prominent streams in IS research. Explanations of why some IS fulfill their expectations, whereas others fail, are complex and multi-factorial. Despite the efforts to understand the underlying factors, the IS failure rate remains stubbornly high. A Panel session was held at the IFIP Working Group 8.6 conference in Bangalore in 2013 which forms the subject of this Special Issue. Its aim was to reflect on the need for new perspectives and research directions, to provide insights and further guidance for managers on factors enabling IS success and avoiding IS failure. Several key issues emerged, such as the need to study problems from multiple perspectives, to move beyond narrow considerations of the IT artifact, and to venture into underexplored organizational contexts, such as the public sector.

The First Leg of E-Government Research: Domains and Application Areas 1998-2003

A comprehensive analysis of 110 peer-reviewed journal papers published from 1998 to 2003 suggests that the conceptual domains and application areas covered by e-government research focus predominately on capabilities and interactions, whereas value distributions and policy orientations are largely ignored. Onwards, e-government research is more concerned with conceptualizing government and e-services than in exploring the governmental role in technology diffusion and the role IT plays in democracy and participation. This orientation of the current research body is an indicator that the legacy of IS research themes dominates the e-government research body and that interdisciplinary research involving core public administration research along with IS research is yet to emerge. It is proposed that the field could be more unified if it considered both the e and the government of e-government.

Fads and Facts of E-Government: A Review of Impacts of E-government (2003–2009)

This paper analyzes the impacts of e-government as reported in 55 first-hand empirical peer-reviewed journal publications during the period 2003–2009, using a conceptual framework to identify ICT (information and communication technology) impacts on four domains within the public sector: capabilities, interactions, orientations and value distribution. The analysis shows that research findings mostly report positive impacts in all four dimensions. In the empirical research, the majority of impacts from ICT are reported within the domain of capabilities, which is also the domain that features the most balanced mix of positive and negative findings. Findings show that although e-government has elements that make it different from previous use of ICT in public administration, research on e-government is yet to demonstrate a substantial shift in the nature and directions of impacts in comparison to earlier studies.

Costs of e‐participation: the management challenges

Purpose – This paper aims to discuss the cost of e‐participation from the managerial perspective.Design/methodology/approach – The use of digital media to consult and engage citizens and companies in the decision‐making process is a way of improving the design and legitimatization of decisions, as well as potentially increasing the likelihood of successful implementation of policies. This paper discusses if the potential economic benefits from increased or qualitatively improved involvement inherently are long term and have to compete with other activities undertaken by government.Findings – There are great uncertainties regarding the magnitude of the positive effects on governance since there are not only positive, but also negative externalities of e‐participation; thus, there are major challenges in measuring and capitalizing on the e‐participation. Part of the reason for the uncertainty is the lack of explicit awareness of the choice of technology, communication style and institutional approach to imp...

Social media in public health care: Impact domain propositions

Abstract This paper investigates the impacts of social media use in Danish public health care with respect to capabilities, interactions, orientations, and value distribution. Taking an exploratory approach, the paper draws on an array of quantitative and qualitative data, and puts forward four propositions: social media transform the access to health-related information for patients and general practitioners, the uptake of social media can be a cost driver rather than a cost saver, social media provide empowerment to patients, and the uptake of social media is hindered by legal and privacy concerns.

Dawn of e-government – an institutional analysis of seven initiatives and their impact

Most countries have defined strategies for e-government. The objectives for implementing e-government are often defined but the means for fuelling the adoption and diffusion of e-government are typically less well clear in the policy statements. The present study assesses the impact of latest Danish initiative implemented to stimulate e-government adoption. The e-Day initiative simply yet powerfully states that ‘one governmental authority has the right to demand that its communication with another authority must be in electronic format’ which is expected to create ripple effects both internally and externally. The e-Day initiative represents a drastic change in the former policy statements concerning IT adoption and diffusion in Danish government. The policy statements had previously been based on voluntary adoption focusing on visions and pedagogical intervention in governmental agencies, but the e-Day initiative marked a departure from that strategy and the carrot has been exchanged by the whip, and the voice is imperative.

Understanding the influence of multiple levels of governments on the development of inter-organizational systems

In the arena of international trade, multiple levels of governments (ranging from national to supranational) play an important role in regulating and controlling cross-border trade activities. Recently, they have also become powerful players in influencing decisions about inter-organizational systems (IOS). The influences of these multiple levels of governments on IOS are of an enormous scale and impact on businesses and national economies. Understanding them is a prerequisite for informed actions. From a theoretical point of view we contribute with the MLxMC framework, a conceptual framework, which combines a processual, multi-level approach with the motors of change. We use the MLxMC framework to explicitly highlight the influences of multiple levels of governments on IOS developments that take place in the highly regulated environment of international trade. We demonstrate how the framework can be applied to analyze such developments, extending the existing IOS research with models that explicitly acknowledge the role of government. The framework makes use of multi-level analysis by taking the political and institutional aspects into account. As an analytical tool, the framework can support business practitioners as well as policy-makers in their strategic choices of which level to engage at and with whom to collaborate in order to influence the debate.

Motivators for IOS Adoption in Denmark

Organizational adoption of innovations does not always follow easily comprehendible patterns. This is often the case with interorganizational information systems (IOS), where adoption is dependent on attributes related both to the organization and to its environment. The present study operationalizes the Tornatzky and Fleischer (1990) model for organizational adoption in order to investigate reasons for adoption and non-adoption among businesses in the Danish steel and machinery industry. This particular industry segment had been subject to massive information campaigns focusing on the benefits of IOS in the form of EDI from business associations. The study suggests that environmental and organizational attributes rather than technological attributes are the main determining forces for adoption of EDI.

Electronic records management systems implementation in the Pakistani local government

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is first to present a case study where standardized case handling processes have been transferred from a manual system to an IT system, and then to demonstrate the implications of implementing an electronic records management system (ERMS) in an environment – the Punjabi province of Pakistan – which is unfamiliar with the features embedded in ERMS.Design/methodology/approach – The methodology is a case study with first hand data observations, meetings, log files and secondary data (reports).Findings – Although ERMS implementation to date has been limited, the ERMS has led to increased efficiency and effectiveness of the government, increased transparency and accountability in decision making, and enhanced delivery of efficient and cost effective public services to citizens. Furthermore, the case indicates that IT implementation challenges are universal rather than dependent on the nature of the country.Practical implications – Lack of adequate training and design of use...