The Activities , Drivers and Barriers of ‘Electronic Public Service Delivery’ in Dubai’s public organisations

Abstract The quest to transform the delivery of government services through innovative and electronic means has been embraced by public organisations worldwide in an ever rising phenomenon, sought after to reap some of the potentially rewarding benefits of the digitisation of government services. In this study, the author reports the experiences of four major public organisations in Dubai as its governing office have imposed a deadline for all of its public agencies to transform and deliver 100 per cent of their services electronically by the end of year 2009. Notably, despite the fact that worldwide reports have placed Dubai as the leader among its Arab peers in the provision of e-government services, technological infrastructures, government’s transparency and internet and mobile penetration rates. Yet, Dubai has missed its 2005 target of transforming 70 per cent of it services electronically facing a dilemma with its digital implementation efforts with achieving less than 45 per cent transformation rate. With e-government deployment failure rates reaching levels of 60 per cent worldwide, the challenges arising from the development of e-government initiatives have proven to be extensive. The complexity of the nature of e-government initiatives as well as the ambiguity surrounding its e-services development process makes reasonable justifications for the high failure rates associated with its deployment efforts all over the world and not just in Dubai. Furthermore, the lack of a universal model and theoretical studies to guide the deployment of this phenomenon have lead researchers and practitioners alike to focus their attention on finding ways and means of improving the adoption and implementation of e-government initiatives. Thus, it was established that it was necessary to find answers for the following questions: How are public organisations in Dubai are going about the diffusion of their egovernment initiatives and what determinates are necessary to be considered in the development process to achieve the initiatives’ success? In response to the aforementioned issues and in order to respond to the research’s objectives and questions, a theoretical framework guided by Roger’s (1995) Organisation Innovation Process theory and extended by Tornatzky and Fleisher’s Technological, Organisational, Environmental (1990) model have been developed to gain a holistic understanding of the phenomenon. The author reported using a multiple in-depth case study research design, drawing on empirical data from semi-structured interviews with e-government participants and gathering evidence from organisations’ documents and proceedings from local and regional Arabic e-government conferences, as well as on-site participants’ observations. This study documented the e-service development activities and identified the influential attributes driving the e-government phenomenon using both a descriptive and exploratory research strategy. Content analysis of the interview transcripts was used to extract answers given during the semi-structured interviews and to identify new themes that emerged from the data. Revision of research findings and comparison with literature have taken place from May, 2011 till April, 2012. The review has contributed to adding over 100 pages to the literature review chapter and over 20 pages to the final chapter of recommendation and conclusion. xi Upon the conclusion of the study’s data presentation and analysis, a further literature review has provided a significant improvement in refining the study’s conceptual framework. It has provides additional theoretical elaboration of key ideas, clearer definition and articulation of the e-services development process and contributed towards the formation of fourteen propositions. The empirical findings indicated three main stages (planning, transformation and deployment) similarly delineated by Rogers’ (1995) Organisation’s Adoption Process theory (initiation, adoption and implementation). However, the stages emerged in a more interactive looping patterns unlike Rogers’ linear model. Additionally, fourteen technological, organisational and environmental factors were indicated as being responsible for influencing the development process of e-services in Dubai public organisations. These propositions are to provide concerned academics with some guidance for further investigation into the e-services’ development practices in the region. This study also attempts to assist and guide government reformers, technological innovations’ team leaders and the implementing staff in Dubai in initiating, deploying, and sustaining their technologically integrated initiatives in a systemic and educated manner