Title: Technology, society and e-government: in search of an eclectic framework

Authors: Sharif As-Saber, Khalid Hossain, Aashish Srivastava

Addresses: Department of Management, Monash University, Room E 458, Bldg. 11, Clayton Campus, Wellington Road, VIC 3800, Australia. ' Bangladesh Tariff Commission, 1st 12 Storied Government Office Building, Segunbagicha, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh. ' Department of Business Law and Taxation, Monash University, Room E 575, Bldg. 11, Clayton Campus, Wellington Road, VIC 3800, Australia

Abstract: E-government is often considered as a dynamic mechanism to establish citizen-centric, more transparent and more accountable government system. However, such mechanism is often thwarted by a host of intricacies contributed by the lack of ICT resources and infrastructure, unequal access to technology, low e-literacy rate and the lack of appropriate government policy initiatives and commitments. The dilemma surrounding the concept of privacy versus openness and the connectivity between the wider society and technology may also impact on the e-government implementation process and its success. This paper initially discusses the challenges to successful implementation of e-government. Subsequently, from a developing country perspective, an eclectic theoretical framework is proposed. The framework aims at identifying the dynamic relationship pattern between the government and the various stakeholders including citizens, and addresses how the various environmental factors, such as politics, bureaucracy, technology and culture, may contribute to the e-government success.

Keywords: e-government; e-readiness; digital divide; sociotechnical connectivity; eclectic framework; privacy; national security; openness; transparency; accountability; government responsiveness; electronic government; developing countries; politics; bureaucracy; technology; culture.

DOI: 10.1504/EG.2007.013981

Electronic Government, an International Journal, 2007 Vol.4 No.2, pp.156 - 178

Published online: 07 Jun 2007 *

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