Investigating organizational learning in eGovernment projects: A multi-theoretic approach

Abstract

Organizational learning is essential during eGovernment implementation to leverage the benefits of such efforts. However, there is a lack of holistic understanding of organizational learning in IT-related change in public organizations. Motivated by such concerns, we construct a structurational framework that inter-relates elements pertinent to IT-related change from four theoretical perspectives: organizational politics, organizational culture, institutional theory, and organizational learning itself. Inter-relationships between elements of these perspectives are explicated through the notions of structures, modalities, and actions from structuration theory. Guided by the framework, we conducted a case study to examine the organizational learning occurring during a successful eGovernment project. The analysis indicates the inextricable interactions between elements from the different perspectives during the project implementation. The proposed framework offers both theoretical and practical benefits for understanding and facilitating organizational learning in eGovernment projects. © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.