Implementing e-Government policy - politics and resistance

• Despite its promise of increasing public authorities' effectiveness, improving decision making and service delivery, e-Government initiatives often fail. So far, reasons have largely been sought in technological aspects of e-Government. However, e-Government implementation processes should be seen as more complex than that; also encompassing various social aspects, implying the need for a broader perspective when developing the understanding of e-Government implementation. Based on an in-depth case study of the attempted implementation of new policy documents on e-Government in the municipality of Vasteras, Sweden, this paper sets out to develop the understanding of e-Government by elucidating how individuals' actions, behaviors and decision affect e-Government policy implementation processes. Applying theoretical concepts from political science and organizational change management, the paper describes how the change driver aimed at steering the implementation as a political process through involving as many stakeholders as possible. Hence, a new advocacy coalition emerged, which agreed upon a new definition of "e-Government", which was necessary for the policy implementation to be successful. However, as time went by, it became apparent that there existed several veto players, which the change driver failed to engage, who actively blocked the implementation process. As a consequence, the policy implementation process failed, despite that Vasteras have the best starting points possible, with general agreement regarding the usefulness and necessity of ICTs and hence with a long history of ICT-use in its daily operations. The case study illustrates the importance of acknowledging basic change management aspects when steering implementation of e-Government processes in order for these to be successful. The case also highlights the need for e-Government-research to look beyond theoretical areas of technological science, and it illustrates the usefulness of theories from political science and organization studies when furthering the knowledge of e-Government. 

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Annan samhällsvetenskap (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Other Social Sciences (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

e-Government

E-Government policy making

Implementation steering strategies

Policy implementation

Resistance

The municipality of Vasteras

Automobile steering equipment

Decision making

Economic and social effects

Electric resistance

Government data processing

Social aspects

Social sciences

E-governments

Policy implementations

Policy making

Public policy

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

kon (ämneskategori)