E-Gov Research 2003-2006: Improvements and Issues

Abstract

This chapter follows up on an earlier study (Grönlund, 2004) by assessing the nature of 117 papers from two e-gov (electronic government) conferences, EGOV 05 and HICSS 06, in terms of rigor and relevance criteria using a straightforward maturity model. The study uses the same method as the 2004 one and makes comparisons between the results. We find that however still focusing overwhelmingly on descriptions and little on theory testing and creation, paper quality appears much better in that references to literature have increased grossly, there are very few dubious claims, philosophical research and theoretical arguments are virtually extinct, and the number of case stories is vastly reduced. However, the number of product descriptions is doubled. We also find that there is no particular focus on specific government and society issues, but rather on traditional information systems ones; IT, method and organization.