Kim Normann Andersen

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.

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.

The Use of Facebook in National Election Campaigns: Politics as Usual?

The uptake of online media in election campaigning is leading to speculations about the transformation of politics and cyber-democracy. Politicians running for seats in Parliament are increasingly using online media to disseminate information to potential voters and building dynamic, online communities. Drawing on an online survey of the Facebook networks of the two top candidates running for seats in the 2007 Danish Parliament election, this study suggests that the online sphere is primarily populated by users who already know the candidates through the traditional channels of party organizations, and that they do not expect to influence the policy of their candidates. Instead, users view Facebook mainly as an information channel and as a means to gain social prestige.

Public websites and human–computer interaction: an empirical study of measurement of website quality and user satisfaction

The focus of this paper is to investigate measurement of website quality and user satisfaction. More specifically, the paper reports on a study investigating whether users of high-quality public websites are more satisfied than those of low-quality websites. Adopting a human–computer interaction perspective, we have gathered data from the 2009 public website awards in Scandinavia. Our analysis of Norwegian and Danish websites reveals that the use of quality criteria is highly technical compared to the traditional usability testing focus on efficiency, effectiveness and satisfaction of the actual system use by representatives. A Pearson correlation analysis of user evaluation from 296 websites that participated in the Danish web award Bedst på Nettet (‘Top of the Web’) showed no significant positive correlation between website quality and user satisfaction. We put forward recommendations for further investigation: (1) inclusion of real users (citizens and businesses) in real-use setting in the evaluation process could help move forward the understanding of the relationship between website quality and end-user satisfaction; (2) the lack of correlation between website quality and user satisfaction could be a point of departure for critical discussions of future implementation of public information and services and (3) additional and in-depth research of the measurement of website quality in the public sector, user expectations and the impacts of website quality improvements on user satisfaction.

Perceptions of information system success in the public sector: Webmasters at the steering wheel?

Abstract Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationships between constructs ofinformation system (IS) success in the public sector, as perceived by webmaster intermediaries, andinvestigate how user testing affects these relationships.Design/methodology/approach – Online surveys were conducted, using questionnaires, withwebmasters in Denmark and Norway who participated in the public sector web award contestsorganized by the government (n ¼ 1,237, n ¼ 541; response rate 44 per cent).Findings – It was found that the frequency with which webmasters carry out user testing affectstheir perceptions of IS success, with those who conduct no user testing displaying the weakestassociations among success variables. Findings also suggest that webmasters who do little or no usertesting conveniently assume that citizen users are satisfied, while webmasters who are moreknowledgeable of the user experience have a greater perception of levels of success.Practical implications – The fact that the majority of webmasters do not perform any type of usertesting triggers a reflection on the need for such important intermediaries to enhance their feedbackchannels. User involvement in assessing IS success cannot be overlooked, especially considering thatuser empowerment in the design, implementation, and evaluation of information systems matches awindow of opportunity originating in the ongoing growth of web interactivity.Originality/value – The paper is one of the few that investigates constructs of IS success in thepublicsector,andarguablythefirstonethatfocusesontheimpactsofusertestingontherelationshipsbetween constructs of IS success in a public setting.KeywordsDenmark,Norway,Informationsystems,Websites,Publicsector,Feedback,Intermediaries,DeLone and McLean IS success model, Webmasters, User testingPaper type Research paper

Assessment of Website Quality: Scandinavian Web Awards Right on Track?

This paper maps the criteria used for measuring website quality in a range of Scandinavian web awards. In order to categorize the evaluation criteria we have used the DeLone and McLean Model, and findings show that there is a heterogeneous pattern of methods and criteria used. System quality aspects are mainly assessed by usability criteria, while the rest of the criteria are evenly divided between information quality and service quality. The remaining evaluation criteria mapped, such as innovation and creativity, fall out of the model. Our analysis also reveals that the assessments are rarely grounded on standardized and objective measures, and that the actual user opinions are ignored in the evaluation process.

Frequency and costs of communication with citizens in local government

This paper addresses the frequency and costs of local government citizen communication in five channels (physical meetings, postal mails, phone calls, e-mail and online self service. Considered to be among the advanced countries with regards to supply of e-services, our analysis shows a surprisingly low use of transactions in the Danish local government. Also, our estimate is that email costs are higher than phone call costs and that there is substantial room for advancing our knowledge of the costs of e-services.

Robots conquering local government services: A case study of eldercare in Denmark

The movement of robots from the production line to the service sector provides a potentially radical solution to innovate and transform public service delivery. Although robots are increasingly being adopted in service delivery (e.g., healthand eldercare) to enhance and in some cases substitute labour-intensive services, the public administration research community is short on knowledge of the impact on the work processes carried out in public organizations and how staff and clients react toward robots. This case study investigates the implementation and use of robot vacuum cleaners in Danish eldercare, demonstrating how robot vacuums have proven to have considerable interpretive flexibility with variation in the perceived nature of technology, technology strategy, and technology use between key stakeholders in eldercare.

Electronic government and the information systems perspective : Second international conference, EGOVIS 2011, Toulouse, France, August 29 – September 2, 2011, Proceedings

Electronic government and the information systems perspective : Second international conference, EGOVIS 2011, Toulouse, France, August 29 – September 2, 2011, Proceedings

The power reinforcement framework revisited: mobile technology and management control in home care

Whereas digital technologies are often depicted as being capable of disrupting long-standing power structures and facilitating new governance mechanisms, the power reinforcement framework suggests that information and communications technologies tend to strengthen existing power arrangements within public organizations. This article revisits the 30-year-old power reinforcement framework by means of an empirical analysis on the use of mobile technology in a large-scale programme in Danish public sector home care. It explores whether and to what extent administrative management has controlled decision-making and gained most benefits from mobile technology use, relative to the effects of the technology on the street-level workers who deliver services. Current mobile technology-in-use might be less likely to be power reinforcing because it is far more decentralized and individualized than the mainly expert-dominated and centrally controlled technologies that were the main focus of the 1970s and 1980s studies. Yet this study concludes that there is general support for the reinforcement framework in the contemporary application of mobile technology in public sector home care.