The role of internal stakeholders and influencing factors during the phases of e-government initiative implementation

Abstract

Governments around the globe were actively implementing e-government initiatives in the past two decades. However, the majority of e-government initiatives fail in achieving their objectives before, during or after implementation. This study is addressing the problem, e-government initiatives are still more failure than success. Literature indicates differing models that analyse various stages, stakeholders and factors influencing e-government implementation in the public sector. Yet, these models do not explore in particular the important roles and responsibilities of internal stakeholders and influencing factors during different phases of the implementation cycle of the e-government initiative. There is a need for a framework that guides the e-government initiative implementation internally. To achieve the aim of this research, this study should empirically investigate "managing e-government initiative implementation." Consequently, this thesis results in research that contributes towards successful e-government initiative implementation based on empirical data derived from three case studies. The practical parts of the research are three case studies on e-government initiative implementation, which are analysed using an interpretive and qualitative research approach. Besides document analysis and observation, interview was the main method to collect empirical data for this study. For an accurate result, only managers and above level are selected and interviewed. The study examines the proposed framework in three government organizations in the State of Kuwait by using a qualitative, interpretive, multiple case study research strategy. As a result, this thesis is proposing a framework that can be used to enhance the implementation process of e-government initiative throughout the different phases of the implementation cycle, and contributes to the body of knowledge by extending the literature. The stakeholders, factors and implementation phases are mapped together to ease understanding the implementation process of e-government initiative implementation across the public organizations. The study concludes by identifying internal stakeholders, factors, and providing a holistic framework for e-government initiative implementation. The findings of this research are useful for internal stakeholders in the field, as it enables them to gain a better understanding of their own roles and responsibilities. Moreover, researchers in similar fields may find this work useful as a way to approach the study of e-government initiative implementation.