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In the current era of technological advancement that is taking place all over the world, a new kind of rationalization has been introduced in the public sector by the use of modern information and communication technologies (ICTs). Increasingly, the use of ICT tools and applications is leading to transformational shifts in public policy, processes and functions. E-government is being deployed not only to provide citizen services but also for improving public sector efficiency, increasing transparency and accountability in government functions and enabling for cost saving in government administration. ICTs are changing the way the government does business for people. In this context, e-governance is seen to be a lever for the transformation of governments.
E-government is the way to serve the citizen and empower citizen for development of the society. This can be done by using Information technology, such as Wide Area Network (WAN), Internet and mobile computing that have the ability to transform the relationship with citizens, businesses and other arms of government. These technologies could serve a variety of different ends: better delivery of government services to citizens, improved interactions with business and industry, citizen empowerment through access to information, or more efficient government management. (Basu, 2004). E-government applications enable interaction amongst government departments, citizens, and businesses. Benefits of e-government include encouraging social inclusion (citizens are able to participate in various socio-economic activities such as decision-making), e-participation (facilitate e-democracy/e-voting), enacting effectiveness of public service delivery by allowing seamless integration of government departments and so forth (Bwalya, 2009).
While there has been a lot of success in these endeavors, evidence of failed programs has drawn attention to the level of risk involved in implementation. A failure rate of more than 50% is widely cited in this context (Heeks, 2008). A report by the United Nations (2008) laments the fact that documented research on the social or economic impact of e-governance is virtually non-existent. A World Bank report (2010) notes that the largest, yet least monitored investments are ICT components of programs in different sectors, highlighting the need to systematic assessment of factors impacting success of these programs. Yildiz (2007) calls for more in-depth studies to examine e-government and these should be placed in broader context. He calls for research with greater focus on examining and explaining the policy processes of e-government so that government decision makers can use research findings to make better plans regarding e-government initiatives.
Based on literature review, we get to understand multiple challenges in successful implementation of e-government initiatives. Aligning the processes with computerization and involvement of end users in this has come out strongly in the literature. Weerakkodya et al (2012) in their paper, comparing implementation strategies of e-government program between developed and transition economies has highlighted that one of the major reasons for success of e-government programs in United Kingdom was because of combining business process engineering and service oriented architecture to improve existing processes. P. K. Suri (2005) in his paper on “Strategic Insights into an E-government Program” identifies process reengineering as one of key challenges for e-government programs. Aikins (2012) identified lack of sufficient administrative reforms as one of key factors for failure of the e-government programs. Woodroof and Burg (2003) showed that there is a significant relationship between a user’s predisposition and satisfaction level. Similarly, Aladwani (2002) showed that users’ attitudes towards computers have a direct influence on end-user satisfaction.