IT Innovation in Local Government: Theory, Issues, and Strategies

Abstract

We examine the adoption of information technology within local governments in the United States. The social and technical factors that impact the process of technological innovation are discussed in reference to the adoption of advanced electronic government (e-government) technologies in local government. In particular, we discuss how the adoption of IT, and e-government, is influenced by the local government’s motivations to innovate, technology characteristics, available resources, and stakeholder support. We then discuss several strategies that may address these factors. We argue that local governments should seek to formally assess the need to adopt e-government technologies, develop new funding strategies, and develop a mix of in-house and contracted IT services. While local governments have aggregately adopted advanced transaction-based forms of e-government at a lower rate than state and federal governments, it is our contention that local governments are merely reacting to innovation factors within their social and technical environments.