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Since the 1990s, the use of technologies from government bodies has raised significantly. The emergence of e-Government in the late 1990s signaled the use of such technologies in the effort to better service the needs of citizens. Also, e-Government has been significantly assisted by the increase in the use of the Internet (Tursunbayeva et al., 2017).
The evolution of e-Government in developing countries is rapid, as it goes beyond service delivery and is directed towards developing a framework for smart, sustainable, and inclusive growth, with a predominant role of citizens as “active customers”.
The theories governing this relatively new, but rapidly growing field make sense to be at an early stage (Shareef et al., 2011; Lakka et al., 2015; Rana et al., 2015; Rose et al., 2015). E-Government includes many aspects of social, technological, economic and political nature. Thus, the implementation of e-Government systems in different countries differs significantly (Liang & Lu, 2013). In any case, the concept of e-Government is directly related to its core mission: the use of information and communication technologies in order to better serve every citizen (Israel & Tiwari, 2011, Gilbert et al., 2004; Schaupp & Carter, 2010). As the effort to develop e-Government systems focuses on meeting citizen needs, the most important factor examined in the international literature is the intention to use the corresponding services (Suki & Ramayah, 2011). Despite the rapid growth and spread of e-Government at a global level, it is not yet clear whether the citizens of various developing and developed countries are ready to fully adopt the philosophy of e-Government (Rana & Dwivedi, 2015).
Internationally, there are various different rankings measuring the level of e-Government implementation. According to a survey conducted by the United Nations (2020), countries are ranked based on two key indicators concerning the state of e-Government: (a) readiness of a government to use Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) to exchange information and provide services to business and citizens and (b) the scope of electronic participation. The survey evaluates the 192 UN member states, according to a composite quantification of e-Government preparedness, based on web site evaluation. In this ranking, Greece comes to the forty second place (United Nations, 2020). On May 24, 2011, Law 3979, which regulates e-Government, was approved by the Greek Parliament. The objective was to substantially upgrade ICT services for all operators (citizens, organizations, etc.) through the better management and simplification of public administration interactions.
This research field was chosen for various reasons. Firstly, despite the bold initiatives for supporting e-Government services in Greece and the development of adequate technological systems, the use and acceptance of these services is still limited (Maditinos & Sidiropoulou, 2020). Secondly, the fiscal challenges that Greece faced during the 2010s and the consequent need for steady reduction in public spending (a reduction in the fiscal footprint of the public sector) (Spanou, 2020), is directly linked to the transition of public bodies to the new digital age. Thirdly, the current conditions of the Greek economy (e.g., high bureaucracy, inefficient public sector, barriers to foreign direct investments, etc.) (Galanos et al., 2019) emphatically require the Greek state to undertake radical reforms towards restructuring its e-government system. Finally, global trends in public administration strongly support the philosophy of “New Public Management” (NPM). In the modern era, citizens are treated as “customers” and meeting their needs through the provision of quality services is a priority of state agencies (Reiter & Klenk, 2019). e-Government is an important tool in this direction.