Location via proxy:   [ UP ]  
[Report a bug]   [Manage cookies]                
Skip to main content
Springer Nature Link
Log in

Theory Development in Digital Government Research: Status and Ways Forward

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
Electronic Government (EGOV 2024)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNCS,volume 14841))

Included in the following conference series:

  • 717 Accesses

Abstract

Researchers within the digital government domain have debated if the domain is under-theorized. With a surge in publications over the past decade, examining its theoretical progress is timely. This reflection paper assessed theory development in digital government research based on a literature review of 41 articles in leading digital government journals. Our findings revealed a preponderance of theoretical extensions based on theories in other domains as well as “unfinished” digital government theories, indicating a need for further development and refinement of the domain’s theories. We further posit that theory testing is a necessary step towards strengthening the theoretical underpinnings of digital government research, and calls for more empirical work to validate, challenge, and refine existing theories, fostering the establishment of a solid theoretical foundation for the domain. In addition, we make suggestions for further research.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 99.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 139.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Keen, P.G.W.: MIS research: reference disciplines and a cumulative tradition. In: Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS). Philadelphia, PA (1980)

    Google Scholar 

  2. Scholl, H.J.: Digital government: looking back and ahead on a fascinating domain of research and practice. Digit. Gov. Res. Pract. 1, 1–12 (2020)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Rana, N.P., Williams, M.D., Dwivedi, Y.K., Williams, J.: Reflecting on e-government research: toward a taxonomy of theories and theoretical constructs. Int. J. Electron. Gov. Res. 7, 64–88 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Bannister, F., Connolly, R.: The great theory hunt: does e-government really have a problem? Gov. Inf. Q. 32, 1–11 (2015)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Hassan, N.R.: Value of IS research: is there a crisis? Commun. Assoc. Inf. Syst. 34, 41 (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  6. Avison, D., Malaurent, J.: Is theory king?: questioning the theory fetish in information systems. J. Inf. Technol. 29, 327–336 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Grönlund, Å.: State of the art in e-Gov research – a survey. In: Traunmüller, R. (ed.) Electronic Government (EGOV 2004). LNCS, vol. 3183, pp. 178–185. Springer, Heidelberg (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-30078-6_30

  8. Chen, B.: Research on the construction of digital government in Digital Economy. In: 6th International Conference on Financial Innovation and Economic Development (ICFIED 2021), pp. 351–356. Atlantis Press (2021)

    Google Scholar 

  9. Heeks, R., Bailur, S.: Analyzing e-government research: perspectives, philosophies, theories, methods, and practice. Gov. Inf. Q. 24, 243–265 (2007)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Coursey, D., Norris, D.F.: Models of e-government: are they correct? An empirical assessment. Public Adm. Rev. 68, 523–536 (2008)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Norris, D., Lloyd, B.A.: The scholarly literature on e-government: characterizing a nascent field. E-Gov. Res. Policy Manage. 21–41 (2008)

    Google Scholar 

  12. Flak, L.S., Sein, M.K., Sæbø, Ø.: Towards a cumulative tradition in e-government research: going beyond the Gs and Cs. In: Wimmer, M.A., Scholl, J., Grönlund, Å. (eds.) Electronic Government (EGOV 2007). LNCS, vol. 4656, pp. 13–22. Springer, Heidelberg (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-74444-3_2

  13. Scholl, H.J.: Is e-government research a flash in the pan or here for the long shot? In: Wimmer, M.A., Scholl, H.J., Grönlund, Å., Andersen, K.V. (eds.) Electronic Government (EGOV 2006). LNCS, vol. 4084, pp. 13–24. Springer, Heidelberg (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/11823100_2

  14. Margetts, H.: Public management change and e-government: the emergence of digital-era governance. In: Routledge Handbook of Internet Politics, pp. 114–127. Routledge (2008)

    Google Scholar 

  15. Anderson, K.V., Henriksen, H.Z.: The first leg of e-government research: domains and application areas 1998–2003. Int. J. Electron. Gov. Res. 1, 26–44 (2005)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Straub, D.W.: Editor’s comments: why top journals accept your paper. MIS Q. 33, iii–x (2009)

    Google Scholar 

  17. Gregor, S.: The nature of theory in information systems. MIS Q. 30, 611–642 (2006)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Leidner, D.E., Gregory, R.W.: About theory and theorizing. J. Assoc. Inf. Syst. 25, 501–521 (2024)

    Google Scholar 

  19. Popper, K.R.: The Logic of Scientific Discovery. Hutchinson, London (1959)

    Google Scholar 

  20. Straub, D.: Editor’s comments: does MIS have native theories? MIS Q. iii–xii (2012)

    Google Scholar 

  21. Eikebrokk, T.R., Busch, P.A.: Progress and stewardship in information systems research: addressing barriers to cumulation through active process ownership. In: Proceedings of the 22nd American Conference on Information Systems (AMCIS). San Diego, CA (2016)

    Google Scholar 

  22. Van de Ven, A.H.: Nothing is quite so practical as a good theory. Acad. Manage. Rev. 14, 486–489 (1989)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Eisenhardt, K.: Building theories from case study research. Acad. Manage. Rev. 14, 532–550 (1989)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Andersen, P.H., Kragh, H.: Sense and sensibility: two approaches for using existing theory in theory-building qualitative research. Ind. Mark. Manage. 39, 49–55 (2010)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Swedberg, R.: Before theory comes theorizing or how to make social science more interesting. Br. J. Sociol. 67, 5–22 (2016)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Grönlund, Å., Andersson, A.: e-Gov research quality improvements since 2003: more rigor, but research (perhaps) redefined. In: Wimmer, M.A., Scholl, H.J., Grönlund, Å., Andersen, K.V. (eds.) Electronic Government (EGOV 2006). LNCS, vol. 4084, pp. 1–12. Springer, Heidelberg (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/11823100_1

  27. Grönlund, Å.: State of the art in e-Gov research: surveying conference publications. Int. J. Electron. Gov. Res. 1, 1–25 (2005)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Bekkers, V.: Why does e-government looks as it does? Looking beyond the explanatory emptiness of the e-government concept. Inf. Polity 17, 329–342 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Meijer, A., Bekkers, V.: A metatheory of e-government: creating some order in a fragmented research field. Gov. Inf. Q. 32, 237–245 (2015)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Yildiz, M.: E-government research: reviewing the literature, limitations, and ways forward. Gov. Inf. Q. 24, 646–665 (2007)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Dawes, S.S.: The evolution and continuing challenges of e-governance. Public Adm. Rev. 68, S86–S102 (2008)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Layne, K., Lee, J.: Developing fully functional E-government: a four stage model. Gov. Inf. Q. 18, 122–136 (2001)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Zuurmond, A.: From bureaucracy to infocracy: are democratic institutions lagging behind? In: Snellen, I., van de Donk, W. (eds.) Public Administration in an Information Age: A Handbook, pp. 259–271. IOS Press, Omaha, NE (1998)

    Google Scholar 

  34. Scholl, H.J.: The digital government reference library (DGRL) and its potential formative impact on digital government research (DGR). Gov. Inf. Q. 38, 101613 (2021)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Dahiya, D., Mathew, S.K.: IT assets, IT infrastructure performance and IT capability: a framework for e-government. Transforming Gov. People Process Policy 10, 411–433 (2016)

    Google Scholar 

  36. Pittaway, J.J., Montazemi, A.R.: Know-how to lead digital transformation: the case of local governments. Gov. Inf. Q. 37, 101474 (2020)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  37. Liang, Y., Qi, G., Wei, K., Chen, J.: Exploring the determinant and influence mechanism of e-Government cloud adoption in government agencies in China. Gov. Inf. Q. 34, 481–495 (2017)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  38. Mukhopadhyay, S., Bouwman, H., Jaiswal, M.P.: An open platform centric approach for scalable government service delivery to the poor: the Aadhaar case. Gov. Inf. Q. 36, 437–448 (2019)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  39. Dwivedi, Y.K., Rana, N.P., Janssen, M., Lal, B., Williams, M.D., Clement, M.: An empirical validation of a unified model of electronic government adoption (UMEGA). Gov. Inf. Q. 34, 211–230 (2017)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  40. Nograšek, J., Vintar, M.: E-government and organisational transformation of government: black box revisited? Gov. Inf. Q. 31, 108–118 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  41. Veeramootoo, N., Nunkoo, R., Dwivedi, Y.K.: What determines success of an e-government service? Validation of an integrative model of e-filing continuance usage. Gov. Inf. Q. 35, 161–174 (2018)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  42. Capistrano, E.P.: E-social security success: evidence from the Philippines. Electron. Gov. Int. J. 18, 198–222 (2022)

    Google Scholar 

  43. Shareef, M.A., Kumar, V., Kumar, U., Dwivedi, Y.K.: E-Government Adoption Model (GAM): differing service maturity levels. Gov. Inf. Q. 28, 17–35 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  44. Azam, A., Qiang, F., Abdullah, M.I.: Determinants of e-government services adoption in Pakistan: an integrated model. Electron. Gov. Int. J. 10, 105–124 (2013)

    Google Scholar 

  45. Guo, Y.: Digital trust and the reconstruction of trust in the digital society: an integrated model based on trust theory and expectation confirmation theory. Digit. Gov. Res. Pract. 3, 1–19 (2022)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  46. Banerjee, P.K., Ma, L.C.K., Shroff, R.H.: E-governance competence: a framework. Electron. Gov. Int. J. 11, 171–184 (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  47. Washington, A.L.: Uncertain risk: assessing open data signals. Transforming Gov. People Process Policy 14, 623–637 (2020)

    Google Scholar 

  48. Zhao, F., Naidu, S., Wallis, J.: An empirical study of e-government adoption in the United Arab Emirates: a social cognitive perspective. Inf. Polity 24, 91–109 (2019)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  49. Abdullah, A.D.A., Chan, C.M.L., Lim, S.A.: Developing an E-government training program: a stakeholder approach. Int. J. Electron. Gov. Res. 12, 37–54 (2016)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  50. Abu-Shanab, E.: Antecedents of trust in e-government services: an empirical test in Jordan. Transforming Gov. People Process Policy 8, 480–499 (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  51. Gupta, K.P., Singh, S., Bhaskar, P.: Citizen adoption of e-government: a literature review and conceptual framework. Electron. Gov. Int. J. 12, 160–185 (2016)

    Google Scholar 

  52. Seo, D., Bernsen, M.: Comparing attitudes toward e-government of non-users versus users in a rural and urban municipality. Gov. Inf. Q. 33, 270–282 (2016)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  53. Hung, S.-Y., Tang, K.-Z., Chang, C.-M., Ke, C.-D.: User acceptance of intergovernmental services: an example of electronic document management system. Gov. Inf. Q. 26, 387–397 (2009)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  54. Alryalat, M.A.A., Rana, N.P., Dwivedi, Y.K.: Citizen’s adoption of an E-Government system: validating the extended theory of reasoned action (TRA). In: Open Government: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications, pp. 651–674. IGI Global (2020)

    Google Scholar 

  55. Duhamel, F., Gutierrez-Martinez, I., Picazo-Vela, S., Luna-Reyes, L.: IT outsourcing in the public sector: a conceptual model. Transforming Gov. People Process Policy 8, 8–27 (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  56. Abdulkareem, A.K., Mohd Ramli, R.: Does trust in e-government influence the performance of e-government? An integration of information system success model and public value theory. Transforming Gov. People Process Policy 16, 1–17 (2022)

    Google Scholar 

  57. Alshaher, A.: IT capabilities as a fundamental of electronic government system success in developing countries from users perspectives. Transforming Gov. People Process Policy 15, 129–149 (2021)

    Google Scholar 

  58. Hujran, O., Al-Debei, M.M., Al-Adwan, A.S., Alarabiat, A., Altarawneh, N.: Examining the antecedents and outcomes of smart government usage: an integrated model. Gov. Inf. Q. 40, 101783 (2023)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  59. Sánchez-Torres, J.A., Arroyo-Cañada, F.J., Varon-Sandoval, A., Sánchez-Alzate, J.A.: Adoption of e-government in Colombia: the importance of government policy in citizens’ use of e-government. Electron. Gov. Int. J. 17, 220–236 (2021)

    Google Scholar 

  60. Loo, W.H., Yeow, P.H.P., Chong, S.C.: User acceptance of Malaysian government multipurpose smartcard applications. Gov. Inf. Q. 26, 358–367 (2009)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  61. Chu, P.-Y., Hsiao, N., Lee, F.-W., Chen, C.-W.: Exploring success factors for Taiwan’s government electronic tendering system: behavioral perspectives from end users. Gov. Inf. Q. 21, 219–234 (2004)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  62. Alarabiat, A., Soares, D., Estevez, E.: Determinants of citizens’ intention to engage in government-led electronic participation initiatives through Facebook. Gov. Inf. Q. 38, 101537 (2021)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  63. Carter, L., Christian Shaupp, L., Hobbs, J., Campbell, R.: The role of security and trust in the adoption of online tax filing. Transforming Gov. People Process Policy 5, 303–318 (2011)

    Google Scholar 

  64. Chauhan, S., Jaiswal, M., Kar, A.K.: The acceptance of electronic voting machines in India: a UTAUT approach. Electron. Gov. Int. J. 14, 255–275 (2018)

    Google Scholar 

  65. Ozkan, S., Kanat, I.E.: E-Government adoption model based on theory of planned behavior: empirical validation. Gov. Inf. Q. 28, 503–513 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  66. Sihotang, D.M., Hidayanto, A.N., Phusavat, K., Diana, E.: Investigating the role of transformational leadership and TOE framework to adopt e-government in Indonesia: the case of village information system. Electron. Gov. Int. J. 20, 94–108 (2024)

    Google Scholar 

  67. Chohan, S.R., Hu, G., Khan, A.U., Pasha, A.T., Sheikh, M.A.: Design and behavior science in government-to-citizens cognitive-communication: a study towards an inclusive framework. Transforming Gov. People Process Policy 15, 532–549 (2021)

    Google Scholar 

  68. Zhao, F., Naidu, S., Chand, A., Singh, G., Sewak, A., Karan, M.: Social networks, cultural orientations and e-government adoption behavior: a Fijian study. Inf. Polity 23, 411–427 (2018)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  69. Liang, Y., Qi, G., Zhang, X., Li, G.: The effects of e-Government cloud assimilation on public value creation: an empirical study of China. Gov. Inf. Q. 36, 101397 (2019)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  70. Lee-Geiller, S., Lee, T.D.: Using government websites to enhance democratic E-governance: a conceptual model for evaluation. Gov. Inf. Q. 36, 208–225 (2019)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  71. Yuan, L., Xi, C., Xiaoyi, W.: Evaluating the readiness of government portal websites in China to adopt contemporary public administration principles. Gov. Inf. Q. 29, 403–412 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  72. Kottemann, J.E.: The effects of technological, institutional and fiscal readiness on the extent of nations’ e-government. Electron. Gov. Int. J. 6, 327–341 (2009)

    Google Scholar 

  73. Trkman, M., Popovič, A., Trkman, P.: The roles of privacy concerns and trust in voluntary use of governmental proximity tracing applications. Gov. Inf. Q. 40, 101787 (2023)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  74. Verdegem, P., Verleye, G.: User-centered E-Government in practice: a comprehensive model for measuring user satisfaction. Gov. Inf. Q. 26, 487–497 (2009)

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Agder, Kristiansand, Norway

    Peter André Busch

Authors
  1. Peter André Busch
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Peter André Busch .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands

    Marijn Janssen

  2. KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium

    Joep Crompvoets

  3. University at Albany, State University of New York, Albany, NY, USA

    J. Ramon Gil-Garcia

  4. Brunel University London, Uxbridge, UK

    Habin Lee

  5. Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden

    Ida Lindgren

  6. Institute of Computer Science, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia

    Anastasija Nikiforova

  7. Krems Center for E-Governance, University for Continuing Education, Krems, Niederösterreich, Austria

    Gabriela Viale Pereira

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2024 IFIP International Federation for Information Processing

About this paper

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this paper

Busch, P.A. (2024). Theory Development in Digital Government Research: Status and Ways Forward. In: Janssen, M., et al. Electronic Government. EGOV 2024. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 14841. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-70274-7_1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-70274-7_1

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-70273-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-70274-7

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Societies and partnerships

Search

Navigation