Tony Elliman

Evaluating e-government: learning from the experiences of two UK local authorities

Abstract. Part of the remit of public sector management includes planning and reflecting on capital expenditure on new technology. With this in mind, the role that information systems play in supporting improvements in e‐government service delivery to stakeholder groups continues to attract much attention. The authors of this paper seek to define the scope and role that information systems evaluation plays within the public sector. In particular, the authors assess whether public sector organizations might benefit from the use of established ex‐ante evaluation techniques, when applied to analyse the impact of e‐government information systems. Following a comprehensive review of the normative literature, an initial conceptual framework for public sector information systems evaluation is proposed, which is then empirically explored within two local government authorities. The conceptual framework is then revised by using the structured case approach, which is dependent on an iterative research cycle where triangulated data are elicited. This then supports the emergence of new concepts during each research cycle that leads to the view that information systems evaluation in the public sector is a process of experiential and subjective judgement, which is grounded in opinion and world views. This leads the authors to challenge the appropriateness of traditional modes of investment appraisal when applied in the public sector. The finalized framework embraces investment decisions, evaluation methods, culture and structure, as well as post hoc evaluation. It emphasizes the importance of situated, interpretive user assessments in evaluating e‐government investments.

Electronic transformation of government in the U.K.: a research agenda

This paper presents the findings of an exploratory research project into future e-Government (electronic Government) initiatives. The Virtual Institute for Electronic Government Research (VIEGO) project aimed at identifying and further developing the research agenda of e-Government based on a solid practical ground. As such, the paper offers a novel methodology in identifying the road map for future e-Government initiatives based on a series of workshops organised around the U.K. hosting a mixture of stakeholders involving both academics and practitioners. The analysis of the VIEGO workshops depicted that an e-Government research agenda involves a combination of social, technological and organisational issues at both governmental and individual citizen level, ultimately driven by empirical case-based experience and active participation in e-Government processes. Unlike other propositions for the future of e-Government offered in the e-Government literature, it raised research questions not only originated from an analysis of e-Government literature but also on the outcome of brainstorming, reflections and contemplations throughout the duration of the project.

Transaction Stage of e-Government Systems: Identification of Its Location and Importance

All e-Government maturity models identify a Transaction stage along the pathway to full systems integration. The evidence suggests that a significant number of project failures occur at this stage and thus frustrate the endeavour to achieve a coherent uniform means of access to Government. Clearly, research to identify and overcome the challenges presented at this stage is critical. In this paper the Transaction stage is clearly delineated as the point at which online technology ceases to be peripheral to the agency’s activity. Hence, it presents the first real organisational challenge and an appropriate research strategy is defined to uncover the problems that arise at this point.

Electronic commerce to support construction design and supply‐chain management: a research note

Looks at the changing nature of the construction supply industry and the role of electronic commerce in the evolved market. With the emphasis shifting from supply‐ to demand‐driven product design, the trading relationships become more complex. In their current form, electronic commerce and brokering systems are too immature to support such relationships. Proposes an electronic market in design and supply capability that spans the supply chain and discusses some of the research issues raised by such a prospect. Many elements of a technical solution are available. The research must address significant changes in working practices and soft systems methods addressing human issues, which are more important than technological design. Exploration of business process re‐engineering options using simulation models is another important aspect of the work. Although the target area is the construction industry, many of the issues which will need to be explored are relevant for other sectors moving to adopt open networked solutions.

Integrating the IS with the Enterprise: key EAI research challenges

Enterprise application integration (EAI) technologies provide the means to integrate strategic business solutions within and across the component parts of organisational information system infrastructures. The continuing development of both digitally integrated business models, through various eCommerce and eBusiness initiatives, has meant that the importance of EAI within enterprise IS, has increased significantly. Noting that EAI incurs not only technological but stakeholder‐level commitments, this paper outlines the product of a sustained investigation into key challenges within enterprise IS and EAI, and provides a framework for future research and investigation into this emerging and evolving area.

Do social networking groups support online petitions

Purpose – EPetitioning has been emerging as arguably the most important eParticipation institutional activity. This paper aims to provide some insights into how ePetitions are perceived and supported by social networking sites.Design/methodology/approach – The paper investigated the connection between the UK Governments ePetitioning system and social networking groups linking to governmental petitions. Online data from Facebook were collected and analysed with respect to numbers of supporters compared to official signatures.Findings – The results indicate that although the process of signing an official petition is not more complex than joining a Facebook group, the membership of respective Facebook groups can be much higher. In particular, certain topics experienced very high support on Facebook which did not convert to signatures.Originality/value – The papers added value lies in the questions raised about the potential uptake of citizen‐government interactions in policy‐making mechanisms.

A business model perspective for ICTs in public engagement

Abstract Public institutions, in their efforts to promote meaningful citizen engagement, are increasingly looking at the democratic potential of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). Previous studies suggest that such initiatives seem to be impeded by socio-technical integration barriers such as low sustainability, poor citizen acceptance, coordination difficulties, lack of understanding and failure to assess their impact. Motivated by these shortcomings, the paper develops and applies a business model perspective as an interceding framework for analysis and evaluation. The underlying principle behind this approach is that it is not technology per se which determines success, but rather the way in which the business model of the technological artifact is configured and employed to achieve the strategic goals. The business model perspective is empirically demonstrated with the case of an online petitioning system implemented by a UK local authority. The case illustrates the importance of considering ICTs in public engagement from a holistic view to make them more manageable and assessable.

Modelling knowledge worker behaviour in business process studies

Purpose – Aims to describe a successful use of simulated knowledge worker behaviour used in the developing online procedures and software for arbitration – the E‐Arbitration‐T projectDesign/methodology/approach – Presents four common factors – deadline, length of task, importance of customer, importance to business – that need to be incorporated within any business process model of knowledge worker behaviour.Findings – A richer model of knowledge worker behaviour is postulated and elements not necessary for the E‐Arbitration‐T model are identified. The knowledge workers day was defined as being made up of Scheduled, On‐demand and At‐will tasks, only some of which may relate to the business process being modelled. A particular question that must be addressed in this extended model is how to model the choices knowledge workers make between competing at‐will tasks.Originality/value – The two pieces of work reported here have generated a rich model of knowledge worker behaviour ready for application and refi...

Establishing a framework for eGovernment research: project VIEGO

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present an exploratory research project to determine the needs for future eGovernment research. The project aimed particularly at getting relevant stakeholder views as a contrast to the received academic wisdom or political rhetoric.Design/methodology/approach – The Virtual Institute for Electronic Government Research used a series of five consultation workshops spread around the UK, to acquire data which were subsequently analysed using a grounded theory approach.Findings – The paper finds that full achievements of eGovernment have yet to been determined. Stakeholders are not eager to develop more novel IT but among their primary concerns are the need to understand how to manage constant change, the need for flexibility and the need to coordinate and integrate policy and practice.Research limitations/implications – There are still many unanswered questions and the future research agenda will require a multi‐disciplinary approach involving a combination of social,...

Creating social entrepreneurship in local government

The public sector is often considered synonym with inefficiency and a lack of motivation to be innovative. This paper seeks to contribute towards the literature surrounding social entrepreneurship in the public sector, through using institutional theory to underpin an e-Innovations model that promotes social entrepreneurship, while recognising how the adoption of innovation within the public sector is fostered. The proposed model seeks to serve as a process that threatens the conservative and risk-averse culture endemic in the public sector.