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Theorizing E-Government: A Resource-Based View

Calvin M.L. Chan

19 July 2004University of Nottingham

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Agenda E-Government Research Question Resource-Based View

Resource Complementarity Resource Complementarity in IS

Case Background Methodology Case Analysis Discussion Conclusion

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E-Government Broadly defined as the use of IT facilitate the

business of government (Moon 2002; UN & ASPA 2001)

Business of government is extremely diverse (Jaeger 2003; Lenk & Traunmuller, 2002; Pratchett, 1999)

e-Governance (Allen et al. 2001; Carlitz & Gunn 2002; Tan & Pan 2003) e-Democracy (Anttiroiko 2003; Gronlund 2003; Watson & Mundy 2001)

e-Consulation (Whyte & Macintosh 2003) e-Voting (Ohlin & Hallgren 2003)

e-Rulemaking (Fountain 2003) e-Services (Gant & Gant 2002)

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E-Government Significance of e-Government

Billions of dollars investment (AFP 2003; BUSINESSWIRE 2002; Layne & Lee 2001; Moon 2002)

Affect both citizens & businesses (Jaeger 2003; Lenk & Traunmuller 2002; Wimmer 2002)

Influence national development (APO 1996; Heeks 2003) Widespread across both developed & developing countries

(UN & ASPA 2001)

New capabilities through e-Government Greater efficiency (Al-Kibsi et al. 2001; Chan et al. 2003; Gant & Gant

2002; OECD 2003) Greater customer orientation (Al-Kibsi et al. 2001; Elgarah &

Courtney 2002; Tan et al. 2003; Wimmer 2002) Improved process of democracy (Anttiroiko 2003; Jensen 2003;

Snellen 2001)

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E-Government Challenges of e-Government are mostly

organisational & social (Al-Kibsi et al. 2001; Jorgensen & Cable 2002)

Process streamlining (Banister 2001; Heeks 1999; Scholl 2003; Wastell et al . 2001)

Stakeholders’ cooperation (Aichholzer & Schmutzer 2000; Chan et al. 2003; Jorgensen & Cable 2002; Murray et al. 2004)

Sustained funding (Al-Kibsi et al.2001; Banister & Walsh 2002; OECD 2003)

Measurement of success (Aichholzer & Schmutzer 2000; OECD 2003)

In line with the corpus of knowledge in IS literature IT alone is insufficient to deliver the organisational values

(Bharadwaj 2000; Clemons & Row 1991; Mata et al. 1995; Melville et al. 2004; Sambamurthy et al. 2003; Teo & Ranganathan 2003; Zhu 2004)

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E-Government Little research on how government organisations actually

achieves the promised capabilities through e-government initiatives

Fewer empirical studies on e-government at the organisational level

Objective: Understand the process of how the promised capabilities

can be achieved

Research Question Has the promised capabilities been achieved? Why is it that government organisations (did not) managed

to achieve the promised capabilities of e-Government?

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Resource-Based View Stresses the management of the heterogeneous set

of resources in firms as source of competitive advantage (Amit & Schoemaker 1993; Barney 1991; Grant 1991; Penrose 1959; Wernerfelt 1984)

Firm Resources define as all assets, capabilities, processes, firms attributes, information, knowledge, etc. (Barney 1991)

New capabilities are developed through the ability to manipulate existing resources in firms (Eisenhardt & Martin 2000; Grant 1996; Montealegre 2002; Nelson & Winter 1982; Sanchez 2001; Tan et al. 2004; Teece et al. 1997; Zollo & Winter 2002)

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Resource Complementarity

One noted way of resource manipulation in developing new capabilities is through achieving resource complementarity (Amit & Schoemaker 1993; Black & Boal 1994; Melville et al. 2004; Teo & Ranganathan 2003; Wade & Hulland 2004; Zhu 2004)

Resource complementarity refers to the influence of one resource over another and their synergistic effect on overall performance (Teece 1986; Wade & Hulland 2004)

Example: In the study of organisational acquisitions & alliances,

resource complementarity among firms lead to better long-term performance (Harrison et al. 1991, 2001; Inkpen 2001; Khanna et al. 1998)

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Resource Complementarity in IS

The use of IT resources are complemented by other organisational resources in delivering organisational value (Benjamin & Levinson 1993; Jarvenpaa & Leidner 1998; Mata et al. 1995; Powell & Dent-Micallef 1997; Ravichandran & Lertwongsatien 2002)

Poor understanding of this process & how it might be achieved (Wade & Hulland 2004)

IT resources are known to play an interdependent role with other organisational resources (Keen 1993; Walton 1989)

Nature of this role is largely unknown (Wade & Hulland 2004)

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Resource Complementarity in IS

IT Resources IT infrastructure of a firm (Bharadwaj 2000; Melville et al. 2004;

Peppard & Ward 2004; Zhu 2004)

Includes IT application, hardware & software (Teo & Raganathan 2003; Tippin & Sohi 2003; Wade & Hulland 2004)

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Resource Complementarity in IS

Non-IT Organisational Resources

Financial (Gant 1991; Mata et al. 1995) Human, Skills & Knowledge (Beard & Summer 2004; Bharadwaj

2000; Melville et al. 2004; Teo & Ranganathan 2003; Tippins & Sohi 2003; Wade & Hulland 2004)

Relationship with External Stakeholders (Beard & Summer 2004; Powell & Dent-Micallef 1997; Wade & Hulland 2004)

Leadership (Beard & Summer 2004; Teo & Ranganathan 2003) Organisational Culture (Bharadwaj 2000; Powell & Dent-Micallef

1997) Organisational Structure (Peppard & Ward 2004; Teo &

Ranganathan 2003) Organisational Business Process (Beard & Summer 2004; Melville

et al. 2004; Powell & Dent-Micallef 1997; Tippins & Sohi 2003) Organisation Reputation (Bharadwaj 2000; Vergin & Qoronfleh

1998)

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Applying Resource Complementarity to E-Government

E-Government Phenomenon

Resource Complementarity Theory

Develop new capabilities through e-Government

New capabilities are developed through the

complementarity of resources

Challenges of e-Government are mostly organisational &

social

IT resources play an interdependent role with

other organisational resources

Few empirical studies on e-government at the

organisational level exist

Resource-based view is an organisational theory

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Case Background Feedback Unit set up in 1985

Towards a more consultative Government

To be “a forum to understand major policies, ask questions, make suggestions, & generally participate in working out a solution” - PM Goh Chok Tong

Solicit citizens’ feedback to fine-tune & shape national policies

Enhance citizens’ understanding of the rationale behind policies

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Case Background Stated Aims:

Receive & process suggestions from the public on national policies & problems

Ensure swift & effective response by government departments to public suggestions & complaints

Initiate & co-ordinate programmes to inform & educate the public about national issues

Gather feedback on existing or impending government policies & their implementation with a view to improving them

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Case Background Established means of achieving its aims

Means Purpose

Dialogue Sessions Two-way communication mechanism where the government can explain the rationale of policies to the citizens and the citizens can feedback to the government their concerns on the policy. Mostly policy-driven and are organized regularly on a wide range of national policies and issues.  Any citizen can participate in these sessions. Both pre-policy and post-policy consultation are conducted

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Case Background Established means of achieving its aims

Means Purpose

Tea Sessions An open agenda, enabling participants to air their views on any issues that concern them. Setting is usually informal, where tea and light snacks are served. Primarily reach out to 15 major groups of citizens, namely youths, elderly, women, students, professionals, ethnic communities, heartlanders, small and medium enterprises, and multinational companies. 

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Case Background Established means of achieving its aims

Means Purpose

Public Forums Organized to explain national policies and issues to citizens, where they can ask questions and clarify any doubt they have regarding these policies and issues.

Straw Polls These polls, which are indicative and representative, are conducted on wide-ranging socio-political issues.

Feedback Groups Independent discussion groups chaired by private or people sector representatives, aiming to contribute useful ideas to help the government fine-tune national policies and address national issues.  The groups serve as a forum where citizens from all walks of life come together and have in-depth discussion on major national issues. There are eight local Feedback Groups covering broad subject areas, namely, economic development and health.

Publications Policy DigestFeedback News

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Case Background The e-Consultation Portal

Initially conceptualised when reviewing the adequacy of existing means & explore other means to be more effective

Visited Canada, UK & USA to get ideas & realised that ICT was leveraged for online consultation

Explored KM Portals for online consultation Approached by MOF on assuming ownership of a Government

Consultation Portal Capital funding provided by MOF Limited technical support provided through MOF Development was outsourced Started Work in October 2002 Launched in April 2003 Considered a success with 2 millions hits within first month of

launch

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Case Background The e-Consultation Portal

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Case Background New Means through e-Consultation Portal

Means Description

E-Consultation Papers Allows government agencies to directly upload pre-policy papers onto the portal where citizens can submit their inputs and feedbacks via the portal.

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Case Background New Means through e-Consultation

Portal Means Description

Policy Digests A mechanism for citizens to understand some of the implemented policies as well as to provide feedback on them. A summary of the implemented policies are presented in a manner that will be easily understood by laymen. Citizen can respond either directly via the portal or through email. A summary report of the responses received will also be posted after a pre-determined period of time and the inputs will be forwarded to the related government agency for follow up action.

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Case Background New Means through e-Consultation

PortalMeans Description

Online Discussion Forum Organised around various policy categories such as health, education and employment. Listed in each of the category are topics that are open for discussion. Minimal direct intervention from the government. Moderation will only occur for defamatory remarks targeted at particular persons or for remarks that jeopardise racial and religious harmony. The government agencies related to the topic of discussion will be kept updated on the development of the topic in discussion

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Case Background New Means through e-Consultation

PortalMeans Description

General Feedback Essentially an email service where citizens who do not wish to use their own email account can send in their feedback and suggestions on government policies and national issues.

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Case Background New Means through e-Consultation

PortalMeans Description

Web Chat A secure synchronous online discussion channel for national policy issues. Participants are pre-selected and are issued with a login ID, password and a designated time to log on. Usually, a MP is invited to facilitate in the web chat so that they are aware of the sentiments and concerns of the citizens when policies are debated in parliament.

People’s Forum Database A database of registered citizens from all walks of life, who would like to contribute their views on national policies and issues. Invitation to both online and offline consultation activities will be selected essentially from this database.

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Methodology Case Study

In-depth exploratory investigation of contemporary events (Yin 1994)

Rich description of social context (Strauss & Corbin 1990)

Primary Data Source – Interviews 15 Interviewers (1-3 sessions; 45 min – 2.5 hrs each session)

Director Deputy Director 2 X Managers 7 X Executives 1 X IT Executive 1 X Clerical 2 X External Agency Users

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Methodology Secondary Data Sources

Survey forms & results Comments from Public Users (Requested to meet Public

Users but wasn’t possible to arrange) Corporate & official publications (e.g. Feedback News; FCM;

Book) Publicity & informational leaflets & brochures Transcripts of official speeches Press Clippings Observations (Attendance of Dialogue/Tea Sessions &

Annual Conference; Surfing the Portal)

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Methodology

Interpretive Data Analysis (Walsham 1995) Support extension of theory to additional context

(Lee & Baskerville 2003) Help sense making of understudied phenomenon

(Lee & Baskerville 2003) Data interpretation supplemented by researchers’

contextual knowledge & experience (Lacity & Janson 1994)

Resource Complementarity as theoretical guide (Walsham 1995; Yin 1994)

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Preliminary Analysis Evidence of New Capabilities – Customer Orientation

More Choices for Customers“When the Unit started out, consultation was largely restricted to Dialogue Sessions. Over the years, it has built up an array of channels for Singaporeans to give their views. Today, I am pleased to say that you are spoilt for choices.” - Chairman

Greater Convenience/ Increase Accessibility“the portal will be an additional platform to enhance our capability to reach out to more sectors of the population. And it’s quite convenient for Singaporeans to just give their views through the portal because it’s Internet and everywhere they go, anytime, they can just give their views.” - Executive

“I was invited to attend one of the sessions, but because of work-related travel which used to take up 70% of my time, was unable to [attend]. With this in place, people like me will have the flexibility of providing feedback at their convenience.” - Citizen

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Preliminary Analysis Evidence of New Capabilities – Efficiency &

Effectiveness Reaching New Customer Base

“Because this portal will reach out to overseas Singaporeans to get their views as well. So by having them to be involved and participate in the process of giving feedback, we’re actually delighting the [overseas] citizens and make them feel involved… Even though they’re geographically outside Singapore.” - Executive

“Feedback from the conventional would be usually not computer-savvy, middle-aged. Those that are from the Portal would be those young, Net-savvy. And these two groups of people give different views.” - Executive

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Preliminary Analysis Evidence of New Capabilities – Efficiency &

Effectiveness Increase in Number of Feedback Received

“Since the launch of the portal, we noticed that there‘s an increase in the number of feedback cases or feedback submitted through the portal. I think on average, through the portal itself, we’ve received about between 200-400 inputs per month and that is on top of the regular feedback email that came in through our generic email account.” – Executive

Average Monthly Before Portal: 534Average Monthly After Portal : 631

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Preliminary Analysis Evidence of New Capabilities – Enhanced Process of

Democracy Increased Consultation

“The consultation channels serve more than just a feedback conduit for the people. The opening up of more channels has led to greater consultation by the Government, as government agencies turn to the Feedback Unit to organise or facilitate their dialogue sessions. Last year, the Unit facilitated 39 dialogue sessions requested by six agencies. More are also conducting online consultation via the Portal. Since its launch, 15 ministries and government agencies have posted pre-policy consultation papers. We are seeing a consultative culture gradually evolving among the government agencies.” - Chairman

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Preliminary Analysis IT Resources

Application & Software Email Web Chat Online Forum File Sharing Database Management Systems Operating Systems

Hardware Network Firewalls Application Servers Web Servers Databases

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Preliminary Analysis Non-IT Organisational Resources

Non-IT Resources FBU Case

Financial Central Capital Funding

Human, Skills & Knowledge In-house + iDA + Outsourcing

Relationship with External Stakeholders

Existing Core + Active Publicity

Leadership Political + Administrative

Organisational Culture Close-knit + Sense of Direction + Service-Oriented

Organisational Structure Hierarchical

Organisational Business Process New Processes + Not Well Integrated with Existing Processes

Organisation Reputation Authority in Consultation

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Preliminary Analysis Complementarity Between IT & Non-IT

Resources

More Choices for Customers Greater Convenience/ Increase Accessibility

Financial Human, Skills & Knowledge (Outsourcing) Relationship with External Stakeholders (Publicity) Leadership Organisational Culture (History (Mata et al. 1995 )) Existing Channels

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Preliminary Analysis Complementarity Between IT & Non-IT Resources

Reaching New Customer Base Increase in Number of Feedback Received

Financial Human, Skills & Knowledge (Outsourcing) Relationship with External Stakeholders (Publicity) Leadership Organisational Reputation (Recognised Authority) Existing Channels

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Preliminary Analysis Complementarity Between IT & Non-IT Resources

Increased Consultation Financial Human, Skills & Knowledge (Outsourcing) Relationship with External Stakeholders (Other Agencies

(Beard & Summer 2004)) Leadership -> Political & Administrative Organisational Culture (History (Mata et al. 1995 )) Organisational Reputation (Recognised Authority) Existing Channels

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Discussion Publicity

Political Leadership

Outsourcing - PPP

History – Inimitability

Recognised Authority – Inimitability

Existing Channels – Redundancy

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Future Research Analysis

Analyse the process of developing resource complementarity in the achievement of the capabilities

Identify if there are any key non-IT resources that keep recurring and attempt to substantiate their criticality

Develop groupings of non-IT resources Differentiate between asset, capability & competency

(Peppard & Ward 2004; Sanchez 2001)

Further Work Additional 2-3 cases

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The End

Comments & Questions

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Hierarchical

Supervisory Council

Director

Chairman of Supervisory

Council

Deputy Director

Executives

Clerical StaffBack