skip to main content
10.1145/3428502.3428578acmotherconferencesArticle/Chapter ViewAbstractPublication PagesicegovConference Proceedingsconference-collections
research-article

Exploring digital government transformation: a literature review

Published: 29 October 2020 Publication History

Abstract

This paper presents findings of the literature review on the recent developments of digital government transformation. It aims to inform the current debate about the dynamics and potential impacts of such transformation. The review covers the literature on the topic developed in the past decade, with a special focus on the conceptual transition from eGovernment towards Digital Government and the intervening factors that allowed the use of digital technologies to revolutionise public services, policymaking and public governance. The literature reviewed for this paper confirmed that the barriers and preconditions for a successful digital government transformation are complex and often not technology related. In fact, the introduction of new technologies by governments is always mediated by organisational, institutional, legal, ethical and social factors. Digital technologies may transform virtually every process, system and structure of government, resulting into redefinition of responsibilities and work routines of public officials. Nevertheless, they also create issues and trade-offs that merit careful consideration and preparation before a full-blown change is introduced. In conclusion, to enable to move from eGovernment to Digital Government transformation the application of new emerging technologies is the starting point but should not be considered in isolation from other intervening factors, from their possible combination, and from their specific characteristics.

References

[1]
Charalabidis, Y., Sarantis, D., & Askounis, D. (2009). Knowledge-driven project management in government transformation. In Handbook of Research on ICT-Enabled Transformational Government: A Global Perspective (pp. 213--239). IGI Global.
[2]
Williams, M., & Valayer, C. (2018). Digital Government Benchmark Study on Digital Government Transformation. DG Joint Research Centre, European Commission.
[3]
Alcaide-Muñoz, L., Rodríguez-Bolívar, M. P. et al. (2017). Analysing the scientific evolution of e-Government using a science mapping approach. Government Information Quarterly 34, 545--555.
[4]
Codagnone, C., Misuraca, G., & Savoldelli, A., & Lupiáñez-Villanueva, F. (2015). Institutional isomorphism, policy networks, and the analytical depreciation of measurement indicators: The case of the EU e-Government benchmarking. Telecommunications Policy, 39(3-4), 305--319.
[5]
Chun, S., Shulman, S., Sandoval, R., & Hovy, E. (2010). Government 2.0: Making connections between citizens, data and government. Information Polity, 15(1, 2), 1--9.
[6]
Ojo, A., & Millard, J. (Eds.). (2017). Government 3.0-Next Generation Government Technology Infrastructure and Services: Roadmaps, Enabling Technologies & Challenges (Vol. 32). Springer.
[7]
Vlahovic, N., & Vracic, T. (2015). An Overview of E-Government 3.0 Implementation. In Encyclopedia of Information Science and Technology, Third Edition (pp. 2700--2708). IGI Global.
[8]
Janowski, T. (2015). Digital government evolution: From transformation to contextualization. Government Information Quarterly, 32(3), 221--236.
[9]
Luna-Reyes, L. F., & Gil-Garcia, J. R. (2014). Digital government transformation and internet portals: The co-evolution of technology, organizations, and institutions. Government information quarterly, 31(4), 545--555.
[10]
Savoldelli, A., Misuraca, G., & Codagnone, C. (2013). Measuring the Public value of e-Government: The eGEP2. 0 model. Electronic Journal of e-Government, 11(1), 373--388.
[11]
Luna-Reyes, L. F., Picazo-Vela, S. et al. (2016). Creating public value through digital government: lessons on inter-organizational collaboration and information technologies. In 2016 49th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS) (pp. 2840--2849). IEEE.
[12]
Alzahrani, L., Al-Karaghouli, W., & Weerakkody, V. (2017). Analysing the critical factors influencing trust in e-government adoption from citizens' perspective: A systematic review and a conceptual framework. International Business Review, 26(1), 164--175.
[13]
Luna-Reyes, L. F., & Gil-Garcia, J. R. (2014). Digital government transformation and internet portals: The co-evolution of technology, organizations, and institutions. Government information quarterly, 31(4), 545--555.
[14]
Misuraca, G., Savoldelli, A., & Codagnone, C. (2014). Evaluating e-government: A comprehensive methodological framework to assess policy impacts. In Government e-Strategic Planning and Management (pp. 25--47). Springer, New York, NY.
[15]
Bertot, J. C., Estevez, E., & Janowski, T. (2016). Digital public service innovation: Framework proposal. In Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Theory and Practice of Electronic Governance (pp. 113--122). ACM.
[16]
De Vries, H., Bekkers, V., & Tummers, L. (2016). Innovation in The Public Sector: A Systematic Review and Future Research Agenda. Public administration, 94(1), 146--166.
[17]
Hartley, J. (2010). Innovation in governance and public services: Past and present. Public Money & Management, 25(1), 27--34.
[18]
Windrum, P. (2008). Innovation and entrepreneurship in public services. In P. Windrum & P. Koch (Eds.), Innovation in Public Sector Services. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
[19]
De Vries, H., Bekkers, V., & Tummers, L. (2016). Innovation in The Public Sector: A Systematic Review and Future Research Agenda. Public administration, 94(1), 146--166.
[20]
Windrum, P. (2008). Innovation and entrepreneurship in public services. In P. Windrum & P. Koch (Eds.), Innovation in Public Sector Services. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
[21]
De Vries, H., Bekkers, V., & Tummers, L. (2016). Innovation in The Public Sector: A Systematic Review and Future Research Agenda. Public administration, 94(1), 146--166.
[22]
Hacklin, F., Raurich, V., & Marxt, C. (2004, October). How incremental innovation becomes disruptive: the case of technology convergence. In 2004 IEEE International Engineering Management Conference (IEEE Cat. No. 04CH37574) (Vol. 1, pp. 32--36). IEEE.
[23]
Misuraca, G., & Viscusi, G. (2014, October). Digital governance in the public sector: challenging the policy-maker's innovation dilemma. In Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Theory and Practice of Electronic Governance (pp. 146--154). ACM
[24]
Misuraca, G., Pasi, G., & Brancati, C. U. (2017). ICT-enabled social innovation. Evidence and prospective. Joint Research Centre, European
[25]
Misuraca, G., Savoldelli, A., & Codagnone, C. (2014). Evaluating e-government: A comprehensive methodological framework to assess policy impacts. In Government e-Strategic Planning and Management (pp. 25--47). Springer, New York, NY.
[26]
Cordella, A., & Paletti, A. (2018). ICTs and value creation in public sector: manufacturing logic vs service logic. Information Polity, 23 (2), 125--141.
[27]
Osborne, S. P., Radnor, Z., & Strokosch, K. (2016). Co-production and the co-creation of value in public services: a suitable case for treatment? Public Management Review, 18(5), 639--653.
[28]
Janowski, T., Estevez, E., & Baguma, R. (2018). Platform governance for sustainable development: Reshaping citizen-administration relationships in the digital age. Government Information Quarterly, 35(4), S1-S16.
[29]
Saari, E., Lehtonen, M., & Toivonen, M. (2015). Making bottom-up and top-down processes meet in public innovation. The Service Industries Journal, 35(6), 325--344.
[30]
Gobble, M. M. (2016). Defining disruptive innovation. Research-Technology Management, 59(4), 66--71; Neumeier, S. (2017). Social innovation in rural development: identifying the key factors of success. The geographical journal, 183(1), 34--46.
[31]
Neumeier, S. (2017). Social innovation in rural development: identifying the key factors of success. The Geographical Journal, 183(1), 34--46.
[32]
Westley, F., & Antadze, N. (2010). Making a difference: Strategies for scaling social innovation for greater impact. Innovation Journal, 15(2), 2--19.
[33]
Nagy, D., Schuessler, J., & Dubinsky, A. (2016). Defining and identifying disruptive innovations. Industrial Marketing Management, 57, 119--126.
[34]
De Vries, H., Bekkers, V., & Tummers, L. (2016). Innovation in The Public Sector: A Systematic Review and Future Research Agenda. Public administration, 94(1), 146--166.
[35]
Rogers, E. (2003). Diffusion of Innovations, 5th edition. New York: Free Press.
[36]
Damanpour, F. (1991). Organizational Innovation: A Meta-Analysis of Effects of Determinants and Moderators. Academy of Management Journal, 34(3), 555--590.
[37]
Greenhalgh, T., Robert, G., Macfarlane, F., Bate, P., & Kyriakidou, O. (2005). Diffusion of innovations in service organizations. A systematic review Oxford: Blackwell Publishing (BMJ Books).
[38]
Walton, R. (1975). The diffusion of new work structures: explaining why success didn't take. Organisational Dynamics, 3, 3--22.
[39]
Cohen, W., & Levinthal, D. (1990). Absorptive Capacity: A New Perspective on Learning and Innovation. Administrative Science Quarterly, 35(1), 128--152.
[40]
Di Maggio, P., & Powell, W. (1991). The New Institutionalism in Organizational Analysis. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
[41]
De Vries, H., Bekkers, V., & Tummers, L. (2016). Innovation in The Public Sector: A Systematic Review and Future Research Agenda. Public administration, 94(1), 146--166.
[42]
Mehr. H. (2017). Artificial intelligence for citizen services and government. Harvard Kennedy School Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation.
[43]
Acemoglu, D. & Restrepo, P. (2018). The Race between Man and Machine: Implications of Technology for Growth, Factor Shares, and Employment. American Economic Review, 108(6), 1488--1542.
[44]
Aghion, F., & Jones, P. (2018). Artificial Intelligence and Economic Growth. In A. Agrawal & A. Goldfarb (Eds.), The Economics of Artificial Intelligence: An Agenda, chap. 9. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
[45]
Arntz, M., Gregory, T., & Zierahn, U. (2016). The risk of automation for jobs in OECD countries: a comparative analysis. OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers, No. 189, OECD Publishing Papers, Paris.
[46]
Barbero, M. Coutuer, J. et al. (2016). Big data analytics for policy making. European Commission.
[47]
Margets, H., Dorobantu, C. (2019). Rethink government with AI. Nature.
[48]
Pencheva, I., Esteve, M., Mikhaylov, S. J. (2018). Big data and AI - A transformational shift for government: So, what next for research? Public Policy and Administration, 1--21.
[49]
Savaget, P., Chiarini, T., & Evans, S. (2018). Empowering political participation through artificial intelligence. Science and Public Policy.
[50]
Shen, C., & Pena-Mora, F. (2018). Blockchain for Cities - A Systematic Literature Review. IEEE Access, 6, 76787--76819.
[51]
Bertot, J. C., Jaeger, P. T., & Grimes, J. M. (2010). Using ICTs to create a culture of transparency: E-government and social media as openness and anti-corruption tools for societies. Government information quarterly, 27(3), 264--271.
[52]
Janowski, T., Estevez, E., & Baguma, R. (2018). Platform governance for sustainable development: Reshaping citizen-administration relationships in the digital age. Government Information Quarterly, 35(4), S1-S16.
[53]
Linders, D. (2012). From e-government to we-government: Defining a typology for citizen coproduction in the age of social media. Government Information Quarterly, 29(4), 446--454.
[54]
Chun, S., Shulman, S., Sandoval, R., & Hovy, E. (2010). Government 2.0: Making connections between citizens, data and government. Information Polity, 15(1, 2), 1--9.
[55]
Dubow, T. (2017), 'Civic engagement: How can digital technologies underpin citizen-powered democracy'. RAND.
[56]
World Bank. (2016). World Development Report 2016: Digital Dividends. Washington, DC: World Bank.
[57]
De Vries, H., Bekkers, V., & Tummers, L. (2016). Innovation in The Public Sector: A Systematic Review and Future Research Agenda. Public administration, 94(1), 146--166.
[58]
Vogl, T. M., Seidelin, C., Ganesh, B., & Bright, J. (2019). Algorithmic Bureaucracy: Managing Competence, Complexity, and Problem Solving in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.

Cited By

View all
  • (2025)Rural Revitalization Driven by Digital Infrastructure: Mechanisms and Empirical VerificationJournal of Digital Economy10.1016/j.jdec.2025.01.002Online publication date: Jan-2025
  • (2024)Digital Leadership Competencies for Digital Government: Insights and Implications from New Zealand Government Agencies.Proceedings of the 25th Annual International Conference on Digital Government Research10.1145/3657054.3657111(473-480)Online publication date: 11-Jun-2024
  • (2024)Hostile Systems: A Taxonomy of Harms Articulated by Citizens Living with Socio-Economic DeprivationProceedings of the 2024 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3613904.3642562(1-17)Online publication date: 11-May-2024
  • Show More Cited By

Index Terms

  1. Exploring digital government transformation: a literature review

    Recommendations

    Comments

    Information & Contributors

    Information

    Published In

    cover image ACM Other conferences
    ICEGOV '20: Proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Theory and Practice of Electronic Governance
    September 2020
    880 pages
    ISBN:9781450376747
    DOI:10.1145/3428502
    Permission to make digital or hard copies of all or part of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for components of this work owned by others than ACM must be honored. Abstracting with credit is permitted. To copy otherwise, or republish, to post on servers or to redistribute to lists, requires prior specific permission and/or a fee. Request permissions from [email protected]

    In-Cooperation

    • University of the Aegean: University of the Aegean

    Publisher

    Association for Computing Machinery

    New York, NY, United States

    Publication History

    Published: 29 October 2020

    Permissions

    Request permissions for this article.

    Check for updates

    Author Tags

    1. ICTs
    2. digital government transformation
    3. eGovernment
    4. governance
    5. innovation
    6. policymaking
    7. service delivery

    Qualifiers

    • Research-article
    • Research
    • Refereed limited

    Conference

    ICEGOV 2020

    Acceptance Rates

    ICEGOV '20 Paper Acceptance Rate 79 of 209 submissions, 38%;
    Overall Acceptance Rate 350 of 865 submissions, 40%

    Contributors

    Other Metrics

    Bibliometrics & Citations

    Bibliometrics

    Article Metrics

    • Downloads (Last 12 months)261
    • Downloads (Last 6 weeks)30
    Reflects downloads up to 12 Jan 2025

    Other Metrics

    Citations

    Cited By

    View all
    • (2025)Rural Revitalization Driven by Digital Infrastructure: Mechanisms and Empirical VerificationJournal of Digital Economy10.1016/j.jdec.2025.01.002Online publication date: Jan-2025
    • (2024)Digital Leadership Competencies for Digital Government: Insights and Implications from New Zealand Government Agencies.Proceedings of the 25th Annual International Conference on Digital Government Research10.1145/3657054.3657111(473-480)Online publication date: 11-Jun-2024
    • (2024)Hostile Systems: A Taxonomy of Harms Articulated by Citizens Living with Socio-Economic DeprivationProceedings of the 2024 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3613904.3642562(1-17)Online publication date: 11-May-2024
    • (2024)Practitioners' Perceptions of Security Issues in Software Containers: A Qualitative Study2024 50th Euromicro Conference on Software Engineering and Advanced Applications (SEAA)10.1109/SEAA64295.2024.00071(423-430)Online publication date: 28-Aug-2024
    • (2024)An Extended DeLone and McLean Model: A Systematic Literature Review of Citizens' E-Government and E-Participation on Social Media Platforms2024 7th International Conference on Internet Applications, Protocols, and Services (NETAPPS)10.1109/NETAPPS63333.2024.10823526(1-10)Online publication date: 6-Nov-2024
    • (2024)Can Governance be Intelligent?10.1017/9781009437783Online publication date: 14-May-2024
    • (2024)Understanding strategies for digital government transformation: A strategic action fields perspectiveInternational Journal of Information Management10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2024.10276676(102766)Online publication date: Jun-2024
    • (2024)Exploring the Challenges of Digital Transformation in the Iranian Public Sector: A Qualitative StudyPublic Organization Review10.1007/s11115-024-00776-y24:3(1077-1103)Online publication date: 1-Jun-2024
    • (2024)Disruptive Technology in Digital Public Service Provision—The Current LandscapeProceedings of Ninth International Congress on Information and Communication Technology10.1007/978-981-97-3299-9_40(495-505)Online publication date: 30-Jul-2024
    • (2024)Dynamic Capabilities in the Public Sector to Deal with GovTechElectronic Government10.1007/978-3-031-70274-7_29(470-483)Online publication date: 3-Sep-2024
    • Show More Cited By

    View Options

    Login options

    View options

    PDF

    View or Download as a PDF file.

    PDF

    eReader

    View online with eReader.

    eReader

    Media

    Figures

    Other

    Tables

    Share

    Share

    Share this Publication link

    Share on social media