Abstract
E-government implementation requires public administrators to respond to stakeholder value. While there are many concepts of value in the field of public administration, an integrated framework that public administrators can use to consider the value of e-government to stakeholders is lacking. The new public management suggests that public administrators can best produce value by becoming entrepreneurial and more responsive to stakeholder needs (Barzelay, 1998; Denhardt & Denhardt, 2000; Frederickson, 1980; Goodsell, 1993; Kettl, 1993; Kettl & Milward, 1996; Moe, 1994; Osborne & Gaebler, 1992; Osborne & Plastrik, 1997; Stillman, 1995). Certainly e-government applications hold the promise of strengthening the relationship between public administrators and stakeholders in ways that better respond to needs and thus provide more value to stakeholders and to society in general. Current e-government classification methodologies tend to focus more on the stages of development of e-government applications (Layne & Lee, 2001; Moon, 2002; UN & ASPA, 2001; West, 2004) than on the different kinds of value that can result from meeting stakeholder needs. There is an emerging emphasis on stakeholder needs and value in the e-government literature rather than on classification methodologies that focus on stages of development (Grant & Chau, 2005; Reffat, 2005; Savoie, 2004; Schware & Deane, 2003; Tan, Pan, & Lim, 2005; Welch, Hinnant, & Moon, 2005). This article responds to these ideas by focusing on stakeholder value to develop a conceptual framework that public administrators can apply to e-government. Such a framework will provide insight into: whether or not an e-government application is worthwhile; and if worthwhile, what political management strategies might be employed to support it. The framework will also facilitate the comparison of e-government alternatives.