Resource enactment in E-Government systems implementation: Case studies on E-Government in Singapore

Abstract

One of the most prevalent contemporary phenomenons in the application of Information & Communication Technology (ICT) is the implementation of e-government systems. Some of the promised benefits of e-government include greater customer-orientation, enhanced efficiency, improved effectiveness, greater faith towards the government, reduced bureaucracy and even catalysed national development. Thus, it is unsurprising that e-government initiatives can be found in the public sectors of both the developed and the developing worlds, with billions of taxpayersa?? dollars being invested in pursuit of these promised benefits. Nevertheless, successful implementation of e-government systems has been persistently elusive. This is coupled with a deficiency of research as most existing literatures are rhetorical rather than empirical. This study intends to address this knowledge deficiency and facilitate a better utilisation of the valuable taxpayersa?? money by asking the research questions of a??how are capabilities developed in the implementation of e-government systems?a??. The resource based view (RBV) is employed in conjunction with the enactment concept as the theoretical sense-making lens during data analysis. An interpretive case study methodology is adopted to examine the implementation of two independent e-government systems in Singapore. The within-case analysis of the two cases each yielded a process model of resource enactment in the implementation of the e-government system. The cross-case analysis yielded four idiosyncratic findings in answering the research question. In terms of implication to theory, this study contributes towards the theorization of the e-government systems implementation process as well as to the theoretical development of the RBV by advancing a resource enactment concept. Implications to practitioners involved in the implementation of e-government systems were also drawn from the findings of this study.