Digital Government and Public Management

Generating Public Sector Innovation at the Crossroads of Research and Practice

J. Ramon Gil-Garcia, Sharon S. Dawes, Theresa A. Pardo

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN:
  9781032193441
• eBook ISBN:
  9781000535945
• Topic: Economia
• Subtopic: Teoria economica

In every part of the world information and technology are changing society and challenging the structures, roles, and management of traditional government institutions. At the same time, universal needs for human and social development, environmental protection, commercial and financial stability, and scientific and technological advancement demand governmental attention.

In this complex and changing environment, governments are still expected to provide for the public good through legal and political processes, and public programs and services. Digital transformation, electronic government, government 2.0, and electronic governance are just some of the labels used to characterize the ideas and actions that underlie adaptation, transformation, and reform efforts. This book contributes to the ongoing dialog within the digital government research and practice community by addressing leadership and management challenges through the interplay of five interconnected themes: management, policy, technology, data, and context. These themes are evident in a wide range of topics including policy informatics, smart cities, cross-boundary information sharing, service delivery, and open government, among others. Accordingly, it includes chapters that explore these themes conceptually and empirically and that emphasize the importance of context, the need for cross?boundary thinking and action, a public value approach to performance, and the multi?dimensional capabilities necessary to succeed in a dynamic, multi?stakeholder environment.

The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of the journal, Public Management Review.

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Trustworthiness of digital government services: deriving a comprehensive theory through interpretive structural modelling

Marijn Janssen

, Nripendra P. Rana, Emma L. Slade and Yogesh K. Dwivedi

ABSTRACT

Having its origin in public administration, trustworthiness is a significant concept in digital government research, influencing the relationships between citizens and governments. However, the interrelationships between the facets of trustworthiness are given inadequate attention. Therefore, the aim of this research was to develop a theory detailing the factors affecting citizens’ perceptions of e-government trustworthiness. A comprehensive review of public administration and information systems literature highlighted 20 pertinent variables. The interrelationships of these variables were identified and categorized according to their driving and dependence power by employing interpretive structural modelling. The proposed model was then drawn based on the level partitioning of variables and interrelationships of the variables determined using the final reachability matrix. The findings reveal that current conceptualizations of digital government trustworthiness take a too narrow view. The findings can help government policy makers with understanding the interrelated factors associated with trustworthiness in the context of digital government services and implement them in effective strategic planning.

Introduction

Governments are struggling with their relationships with the public. Studies have shown that the trust of citizens in government has declined dramatically over recent decades (e.g. Hibbing and Theiss-Morse 2001; Rosenstone and Hansen 1993). Digital government – or e-government – technologies are regarded as key to improving relationships between government and the public (Morgeson III et al., 2011; Ravishankar 2013; Shareef et al. 2016a). Some regard e-government as a powerful tool for improving the internal efficiency of the government, the quality of service delivery, and public participation and engagement (Dwivedi et al., 2016a; Dawes 2008; Gil-García and Pardo 2005; Parent, Vandebeek, and Gemino 2005; Rana and Dwivedi 2015; Rana et al. 2015a, 2016). Others find e-government to be a means of helping to establish trustworthy institutions and building or restoring citizen’s trust in government (Bellamy and Taylor 1998; Tolbert and Mossberger 2006; West 2005; Sandeep and Ravishankar 2014).

Trust is important in the e-services context to help users overcome perceptions of uncertainty and risk (McKnight, Choudhury, and Kacmar 2002), which may inhibit citizens’ use of e-government technologies. Although scholars in the public administration field have discussed the significance of trust (e.g. Behn 1995; Nachmias 1985; Ruscio 1996), not much empirical research on this subject is yet fou...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-Title Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Citation Information
• Notes on Contributors
• Introduction – digital government and public management research: finding the crossroads
• 1 Trustworthiness of digital government services: deriving a comprehensive theory through interpretive structural modelling
• 2 Collaborative data networks for public service: governance, management, and performance
• 3 Value of inter-organizational collaboration in digital government projects
• 4 The digital government imperative: a context-aware perspective
• 5 Open innovation in the public sector: drivers and barriers for the adoption of Challenge.gov
• 6 Toward precision governance: infusing data into public management of environmental hazards
• 7 Preparing public managers for the digital era: incorporating information management, use, and technology into public affairs graduate curricula
• Index