Swedish eGovernment in public use

• The idea of eGovernment is often put forward as the main principal for public administrations to improve their government activities. One of the most emphasized arguments for eGovernment in the public discourse is the expectation of an increased interaction with and service toward citizens by enhanced e-services and the efforts in improving e-services in number and functionality undergo constant benchmarking tests. These benchmarking results are then often acting as incentives for further investments and action plans. , But we still lack sufficient analyses of actual usage, even though it is a quite natural next step in assessing success of what is supplied in other contexts. In this paper it is argued that Sweden is especially interesting given the high internet penetration, highly developed welfare system and the fact that Swedish authorities’ development of various e-services is rated quite high in these benchmarking efforts. The purpose of this paper is to address the question of how and when Swedish e-services are used by the public as an important issue for understanding the impact of eGovernment on the interactions between citizens and government. Our tentative empirical results indicate an interesting gap in use patterns in relation to supply (number and functionality) of e-services Further on use varies with age and level of education. In conclusion the fact that even though Sweden has so many of the necessary requirements, (iii) there is an incongruity between supply and use and (ii) the use is still very structurally divided  calls for a discussion of useworthiness and raise questions of whether eGovernment challenge any structural mechanisms.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Statsvetenskap -- Statsvetenskap (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Political Science -- Political Science (hsv//eng)

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