Different countries adopt Electronic-government (EG) from different perspectives, although they align their mission to develop efficient government sectors that can satisfy citizens. However, countries develop their initiatives from different visions and attempt to achieve different ends, although their means are very similar. This chapter addresses and analyzes the strategies and objectives for EG of different countries. It also delineates subtle differences in their targets to achieve the implementation and proliferation of EG. It has three sections; the first gives the background of this case study, the second examines the EG initiatives of some selected countries, and the third discusses the summary of these initiatives.
TopBackground
It is now well recognized that the application of information and communication technology (ICT) in the bureaucratic public administration system can make it dynamic and ensure that service quality is modernized. However, it is also obvious from literature reviews that business process engineering in public service reformation must be supported by financial capability and political commitment (Kraemer and King, 2003; Stokes and Clegg, 2003; Dawes et al., 2004; Titah and Barki, 2005; Reddick, 2006; Irkhin, 2007; Schedler and Summermatter, 2007). Different countries are pursuing EG as a national policy to reform public administration and developing an efficient, effective, and cost-cutting service delivery system to improve their national economy. Governments are learning from large corporations to treat customers as the first stakeholder to satisfy and, through this approach, creating loyal customer groups. Government organizations in both developed and developing countries now understand that without treating citizens as customers and satisfying their needs with the highest quality of service, they cannot compete with the private sector in areas where their services overlap. So public organizations are now working hard to reform their management system to be like private corporations and create close ties with their stakeholders. Therefore, the prime and fundamental objective of EG in any country is to satisfy customers with better quality and efficient services (Moon and Norris, 2005; Parent et al., 2005; Evans and Yen, 2006; Irkhin, 2007; Shareef et al. 2009, 2010c).
However, different countries adopt this objective from different perspectives (Shareef et al., 2010a). Some countries take this notion of citizen-centric service to make the service system more dynamic so that it can be cost effective. Other countries implement the objective of a citizen-driven system to make the public sector as dynamic as a private corporation and boost the national economy as well as establishing themselves on the global marketplace. Some countries do, however, approach the goal satisfying citizens so they can develop an interconnected government among all the stakeholders and pursue good governance through a transparent and participative government. We can observe these different approaches by different governments to pursue EG through ICT from the definition of EG given by Shareef et al. (2010b) that gives the accomplishment of ultimate objectives and goals of EG as: “EG as an applied system can be defined as the modern evolution of government organizational structure for the presentation and delivery of all types of government information, services, and functions to all its users and stakeholders. It provides increased efficiency and efficacy in terms of service quality, time, and cost and in availability and accessibility. It also provides ease of use, transparency, participation in the public service function and decision making, democratization, and globalization through the use of modern ICT.”
We find that getting a comprehensive picture of the strategies and objectives of different countries in pursuing EG in the core public administration system through ICT, organizational reengineering, socio-cultural change, and political commitment has significant implications for any realistic managerial initiatives. The objective of this study is to analyze the vision, objectives, and strategies adopted by different countries in terms of their capability, technological beliefs, and political commitment.