Is Cybercrime One of the Weakest Links in Electronic Government?

This paper provides an insight to the increasing problem of cybercrime in the context of electronic government. It takes examples from the UK government to argue that it is no longer possible to just rely on technical controls while securing electronic government transactions. Reports and studies reflect that illicit acts such as cybercrime are predominantly the result of not only disregard for basic information security and but also lack of awareness about the importance of social issues associated with information technology. Consequently, focusing on the technical controls provides only a partial solution while managing cybercrime particularly in electronic government context.

A VALUE NETWORK ANALYSIS OF AUTOMATED ACCESS TO E-GOVERNMENT SERVICES

This research maps out the value network of collaboration enabling automated access to egovernment services, motivated by the dissemination efforts of the EU-funded Access-eGov project. The main contribution of this article is the stepwise development of a value map which highlights the exchange of tangible and intangible deliverables and an initial value network analysis based on two different scenarios of technology choice. Results are expected to help decision makers in the participating institutions to direct their investments, and to help policy makers considering options for introducing new (public or private) actors to the collaboration network. However, value network analysis in e-government is only at the beginning, and further research should collect more empirical data, focus on reusing existing e-government assets, quantify the value exchanges, and bring value network analysis closer to decision making in governmental practice

evidence from a South American country

Pazmiño-Sarango, M., Naranjo-Zolotov, M., & Cruz-Jesus, F. (2021). Assessing the drivers of the regional digital divide and their impact on eGovernment services: evidence from a South American country. Information Technology and People. [Advanced online publication in 21 September 2021]. https://doi.org/10.1108/ITP-09-2020-0628Purpose: The paper explores the main drivers of the regional-level digital divide in Ecuadorian cities and the extent to which the information and communication technology (ICT) adoption by citizens influences local-level policymakers' decisions to develop eGovernment services. Design/methodology/approach: The paper used an exploratory approach. The authors empirically assessed the provision of eGovernment services in each of the 36 Ecuadorian local governments following the Local Online Service Index (LOSI) measurement scale proposed by the United Nations, and then evaluated the drivers of the eGovernment divide at a local level. Ordinary least squares regression analysis was used. Findings: The findings indicate that the digital divide is driven by income and education disparities, and that eGovernment availability is driven by ICT use. It appears that proper attention to technology use by its citizens is not being given by local-level policymakers in Ecuador when they devise their eGovernment strategy. Research limitations/implications: Because the data were available at different levels of aggregation, there may be some inaccuracy of the indicators and lack of generalizability. Researchers are encouraged to test this hypotheses with data at lower levels of aggregation and from different latitudes to provide a comparative view between countries. Practical implications: The paper includes implications for policymakers and local authorities regarding how the limitations on eGovernment development may be mitigated. Originality/value: This study fulfils the need to assess digital development and its impact on eGovernment services at a city level in a developing country.authorsversionepub_ahead_of_prin

Semantics in the wild : a digital assistant for Flemish citizens

Public service fragmentation across more than 800 digital channels of government administrations in the region of Flanders (Belgium), causes administrative burden and frustrations, as citizens expect a coherent service. Given the autonomy of the various entities, the fragmentation of information and budget constraints, it is not feasible to rewire the entire e-gov ecosystem to a single portal. Therefore, the Flemish Government is building a smart digital assistant, which supports citizens on the governmental portals, by integrating status information of various transactions. This paper outlines our ongoing research on a method for raising semantic interoperability between different information systems and actors. In this approach, semantic agreements are maintained and implemented end-to-end using the design principles of Linked Data. The lessons learned can speed-up the process in other countries that face the complexity of integrating e-government portals

Managing the E-Government Organization

This article examines the internal and external administrative factors conducive and inhibitive of the development of e-government. It develops a conceptual framework on the basis of existing experiences drawn from administrative reforms. Using data from a large survey of public managers in the German federal government to test guidelines and prescriptions provided in the article, this study indicates that the elements and guidelines developed in our research have had a direct or indirect influence on the development of e-government. Finally, the article indicates further research requirements, as well as consequences for practical project design

Intelligent modeling of e-Government initiatives in Greece

Over the last two years Greece has employed agile ICT solutions to reduce the administrative burden in front-office G2B transactions. This research supplements historic analysis with fuzzy cognitive maps to offer a multi-dimensional coupling of eGovernment initiatives with digital maturity assessment capabilities and a strategy alignment evaluation framework. This “intelligent x-ray” confirms that front-office technology is important in reducing administrative burden. The digital bypass of bureaucracy seems to be an effective start for Greece. However, this strategy can only serve as a short-term tactical choice. The “intelligent x-ray” provides executive level quantification and traceable reasoning to show that excessive emphasis on front- office technology will soon fail to support a strong eGovernment maturity. Organizational efficiency, interoperability, regulatory simplifications, and change management must also act as important objectives. Only then will ICT deliver its full potential, and the eGovernment maturity will improve significantly even with moderate ICT investments

Measuring eGovernment Portal Management on the Local Level: Results from a Survey of Public Administration Officials

Given the importance of eGovernment portals as an integral access interface of modern public service provision, this contribution concentrates on the issue of the dimensions and derived success factors of these information systems. Starting with the DeLone & McLean IS success model and the resource-based view as foundations, this article conceptualizes the important success factors of eGovernment portals and then integrates these into a research model. The empirical results show the importance of the different dimensions of eGovernment Portal Management as well as the development of eGovernment portals so far. For public service portals on the local level the key management dimensions are information, system, service and privacy management. The evaluation of these dimensions as well as perceived internal and external success in public administration institutions complement user-based quality assessments and highlight organizational strengths and weaknesses

E-Government as a Tool in Controlling Corruption

Combating corruption is crucial to achieve sustainable development. With the digital revolution, the use of Information and Communications Technology by the government can promote more efficient services, diminishing the discretionary power of officials, and thus reducing corruption and promoting sustainable development. This study empirically investigates the impact of e-Government in reducing corruption on a large panel data of 175 countries, from 2003 to 2019, by estimating regression models. The results suggest that e-Government, accountability, political stability, economic wealth, and internet are significant determinants of corruption. E-Government can be a significant tool to curb corruption, although e-Government Development Index needs to exceed a threshold of 0.39 to reduce corruption. Although e-Government is a recent phenomenon, it can be regarded as an important tool for combating corruption and improving governance, enhancing transparency in public administration, since it reduces discretional power and increases the chance of exposure, eliminating some opportunities for corruption.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Service delivery through mobile-government (mGov): Driving factors and cultural impacts

The mobile-Government (mGov) service system is conducted through an open network, and it is virtual. This service mode and pattern change inevitably necessitates a behavioral change in citizen attitudes and intentions. Nevertheless, this new pattern of service delivery through mGov has hardly been systematically investigated by any researchers. The objective of this current research is twofold. First, we attempt to reveal the sources of beliefs for developing intention toward the mGov (ITM) system. Then, as the second objective, we investigate cultural influence as the reason for a difference in consumer attitudes and intentions toward mGov. In this regard, the empirical study was conducted in Bangladesh and the USA, which have potential differences in the cultural traits listed by Hofstede. From our statistical analysis, we have identified the sources of beliefs for both Bangladeshi and USA consumers.We observed clear differences in sources of beliefs and their influence on attitudes leading to intention, which demonstrates support for our second objective which was designed to verify the cultural impacts on belief-attitude relations.We understand that these different sources of beliefs influence cognitive, affective, and connative attitudes toward mGov in different ways