To Örebro University

This study organizes existing research on the public value of e-government in order to investigate the current state and what value e-government is supposed to yield. The two questions that guided the research were: (1) What is the current state of research on the public value of e-government? And (2) What value is e-government supposed to yield? Six, sometimes overlapping, values were found: Improved public services; improved administrative efficiency; Open Government (OG) capabilities; improved ethical behaviour and professionalism; improved trust and confidence in government; and improved social value and well-being. These six public value dimensions were thereafter generalized into three overarching, and also overlapping, public value dimensions of Improved Public Services, Improved Administration, and Improved Social Value. The improved public services dimension influences other dimensions. Hence, this literature study theorizes a descriptive and multidimensional framework that can improve our understanding of the public value of e-government from different viewpoints, and the overlap between them in actual e-government designs and implementations. Regarding the current state of research on the public value this study found a lack of research on the public value of e-government, especially, in the context of developing countries – and more importantly – a total absence of this kind of research in the Least Developed Countries (LDCs). There is also a lack of comparative studies at national, regional, and project level; and a lack of research on the generative perspective.

E‑government is currently high on the agenda in many developing countries (DCs). While e‑government is well‑established in many developed countries it is new to least developed countries. Countries that start implementing e‑government today can benefit from easy import of modern technologies, but adaptation to local conditions and the organizational change that is required cannot be imported, but must be developed at home. By using examples of an ongoing initiative by the Government of Rwanda to digitalize all G2C and G2B into a single window platform, the current study investigated the important challenges in the implementation of e‑government in Rwanda. An interpretive case study was followed. Data was collected through interviews and participatory observations during August to December 2015. Data analysis was inductive, the analysis method was content analysis, and the coding followed open‑coding. NVivo software has been used to handle data and facilitate the analysis. The study found six overarching categories of aspects that challenge a successful implementation of e‑government in Rwanda. They include information infrastructure for e‑government, social inclusion, governance, management, trust in the new system, and languages. However, challenges to e‑government implementation should not be taken as of the same extent, neither their degree of mitigation. Rather, they influence and are influenced by various contextual factors which include political support, nature of the e‑government project, implementation strategies, human and socio‑economic development, existing information infrastructure, and operational capabilities. Having said this, we also argue that countries should learn from one another of their experiences, success stories, and mistakes. Despite a number of associated challenges, the adopted public‑private partnership (PPP) approach to e‑Government implementation in Rwanda might indeed seem as a suitable catalyst for e‑government success in the country.

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