GOVERNMENT POLICY AND DIFFUSION OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY USE IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR : A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF SINGAPORE AND HONG KONG

Abstract

The two main objectives of this study are: (1) to analyze the government Information Technology (m related policies in two countries and (2) to examine the influence of these government policies on IT diffusion in the public sector. To achieve these objectives, the government policies and indicators of IT diffusion in the public sector of Singapore and Hong Kong over the ten-year period 1980 to 1989 were examined. Traditionally, technological diffusion is believed to be primarily influenced by economic factors, infrastructure, and culture. In recent years, it has been increasingly recognized that government plays an important role in technological diffusion and that government policy affects not only the rate of diffusion but also the pattern of diffusion. With respect to IT, many researchers believe that active government intervention is necessary and suggest that the reason for the differences in the state of IT diffusion among countries could be the result of conscious intervention on the part of some governments. The primary data collection tool was self-administered questionnaires. Two questionnaires, the Central Government Policy Questionnaire and the Computer Installation Questionnaire, were designed to collect data for the study. Data on government policies was gathered through the Central Government Policy Questionnaire. This questionnaire was completed by the Country Experts who are policy advisors and policy implementors with regard to computerization efforts in their respective countries. Government publications, journals, and press articles provided additional useful information for analyzing the government policies. The second questionnaire captured data on IT use in the public sector. This questionnaire was administered by the Country Experts to every computer installation in the public sector of Singapore and Hong Kong. The Policy Cube framework was developed as a tool for analyzing government policies at the national and public sector level in both countries. For the period 1980 to 1989, two national IT policies were introduced in Singapore. The main thrust of the National Computerization Policy (1980) was to increase the number and skills of DP professionals, government computerization, and software production. The National IT Plan (1986) was to encourage the use of IT in all sectors of the economy to improve their efficiency and performance. The first policy emphasized supply push actions with intense government intervention. The second policy shifted the emphasis to demand pull actions. At the public sector level, the Civil Service Computerization Programme (CSCP) adopted in 1980 relied on demand pull actions to encourage greater use of IT in the public sector. Hong Kong did not have any national IT policy between 1980 and 1989. The central government adopted an IT policy in 1989. This policy is more balance in emphasis on the demand pull and supply push actions as compared to the CSCP in Singapore. The result of this study shows that the presence of explicit government policy has a significant positive influence on some measures of IT diffusion. The presence of government policy leads to a more significant level of degree of IT diffusion and completeness of IT diffusion. The influence of government policy on the rate of IT diffusion seems to be less significant. Economic development seems to exert greater influence on IT diffusion rate.