E-government is a concept that was introduced into public administration in the 1990s. Electronic government is the use of information and communication technologies by government.

1. FUNCTIONS OF E-
GOVERNMENT:
A STUDY OF MUNICIPAL
PRACTICES
Presenter: Faisal Karimi, MA Student of New Media
Studies, School of Media and Design, Shanghai Jiao
Tong University
Paper Writer:
Tony Carrizales,
Assistant Professor of Public
Administration, Rutgers University at
NewarkState and Local Government Review
Vol. 40, No. 1 (2008): 12–26
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om
Nov 22, 2017

2. Research Structure
Hypothese
s
Data and
Methodology
Findings and
Discussion
Conclusio
n
Research
Framewor
k
Introducti
on
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3. What is e-government ?
It is the
transformation of government
to provide
Efficient
Convenient &
Transparent
Services
to
the Citizens & Businesses
through
Information & Communication Technologies
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4. What is e-government ?
E-government is a concept that was introduced
into public administration in the 1990s.
Electronic government is the use of information
and communication technologies by
government.
The main goal of e-government:
Citizen-
centered
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5. Defining E-Government
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Pascual (2003, 5) proposes a more narrow
definition: E-government aims to enhance access and
delivery of government services to benefit citizens
while strengthening government’s drive toward
effective governance and increased transparency.
Melitski (2004, 652) has broadened the definition:
“E-government consists of Internet-driven innovations
that improve citizen access to government information
services and ultimately equitable participation in
government.”

6. Moon highlights four distinct criteria of
E-gov
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A secure government intranet for more
efficient interaction among governmental
agencies
Web-based service delivery
E-commerce for more efficient government
transaction activities
Digital democracy for more transparent
accountability of government.

7. E-government operating levels
1
• Government to Citizen
2
• Government to
Business
3
• Government to
government
E-Gov Three Operating Levels
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8. Client groups of e-governmentClientofe-
government
Citizens
Business
community
Government
employees
Government
agencies
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9. The majority of e-government research has focused on
highly populated municipalities and practices at the state
and federal levels. The findings of the study presented here
contribute to the research on e-government by highlighting
the practices and trends in municipalities with populations of
fewer than 50,000 residents.
A 2005 survey of New Jersey municipalities was conducted
to identify e-government practices and chief administrative
officers’ perceptions of the use of technology within a
framework of four distinct functions of e-government.
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Research area and facts

10. Functions of a Municipal E-
government
1- E-Organization
2- E-Services
3- E-Partnering
• E-mail and intranets for
- Internal efficiency
- Internal effectiveness
- Horizontal and vertical communication
• External efficiency
• External effectiveness
•Downloadable government forms
•Municipal Web sites, info online, pay tax
• External efficiency
• Effectiveness in working with:
public and private organizations
(horizontal relationships), Business, schools, etc.
4- E-Democracy
• Participation in government:
- Citizen decision making
- Citizens online discussion
- online Policy forums, E-voting, accountab
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11. Research Framework
Various factors were considered as variables of possible influence
based on the e-government literature.
These factors are categorized as:
Managerial variables and organizational variables
• Perspectives of chief administrative officers
(CAOs) toward the four functions of e-
government.
Managerial variables
are associated with:
• A separate IT department
• A strategic plan
• The size of its budge
• The population it serves, and its form of
government.
Organizational
variables are
associated with:
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12. Managerial Variables
Variables were
developed from the
chief administrative
officers’ responses
to survey
questions on
current practices
and personal
perspectives.
The respondents
were city
managers, but
also included
other officials
such as
municipal
supervisors and
city
administrators.
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Pascual (2003, 29):
Strong leadership is critical to the success
of e-government because it “ensures the
long-term commitment of financial
resources, personnel and technical
expertise in the design, development and
implementation of e-government projects.”
Managerial Variables

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 The fifth managerial variable is based on
CAOs’ perspectives on security and privacy.
 The last three managerial variables are:
Gender, Age, and Education.
Managerial Variables

14. Organizational Variables
 One key organizational
variable derived from the
literature is whether a
municipality houses a separate
IT department. Organizations
with IT departments tend to
have more advanced e-
government initiatives.
 A second independent variable
that may be critical to e-
government is strategic
planning.www.FaisalKarimi.com
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The final organizational
variable reflects the
influence of form of
government (council-
manager, mayor-council, and
commission forms) on e-
government performance.
A third independent variable is
the municipal budget. A tight
budget can be a significant
barrier to e-government
development.
• A fourth organizational variable
is municipal population.
Research on e-government has
tended to focus on countries,
states, or cities with more than
50,000 residents.
Organizational Variables

16. Hypotheses
Hypothesis 1a–d. A municipality with a council-manager form of
government will have more advanced e-government practices than a
municipality that does not have a council-manager form.
Hypothesis 2a–d. A municipality with an IT department will have
more advanced e-government practices than a municipality that does
not have an IT department.
Hypothesis 3a–d. A municipality that has a strategic plan that
includes a section on e-government will have more advanced e-
government practices than a municipality that does not have such a
plan.
Each hypothesis has four distinct relationships: e-organization (a), e-
services (b), e-partnering (c), and e-democracy (d).
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17. Hypothesis 4a–d. A
municipality that spends a
larger percentage of its
budget on IT will have more
advanced e-government
practices than a municipality
that spends a lesser
percentage of its budget on IT.
Hypothesis 5a–d.
Municipalities that have larger
populations will have more
advanced e-government
practices than municipalities
that have smaller populations.
Hypotheses
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18. Hypothesis 6a–d. A chief administrative officer who has
a positive perspective on the functions of e-government
will most positively affect his/her municipality’s advanced
e-government practices than a chief administrative officer
who has a negative perspective.
Hypothesis 7a–d. A chief administrative officer who has
concerns over privacy/ security will more negatively affect
his/ her municipality’s advanced e-government practices
than a chief administrative officer who does not have
such concerns.
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Hypotheses

19. Hypothesis 8a–d. A younger chief administrative officer will more
positively affect his/her municipality’s e-government practices than
a chief administrative officer who is older.
Hypothesis 9a–d. A chief administrative officer who has an MPA
will more positively affect his/her municipality’s e-government
practices than a chief administrative officer who does not have a
degree in public administration.
Hypothesis 10a–d. A female chief administrative officer will most
positively affect her municipality’s e-government practices than a
male chief administrative officer.
Hypotheses
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20. Data and Methodology
For this study, a survey of municipal chief administrative
officers in New Jersey was conducted in the fall of 2005.
New Jersey municipalities were chosen because of the
availability of the data.
The constructed survey used in this study was intended for the
chief administrative officer of each municipality in New Jersey.
A total of 196 valid survey responses was collected, of which
182 represented municipalities with populations of fewer than
50,000 residents.
The statistical technique performed for analysis of the survey
data was ordered logistic regression using the STATA
statistical program.
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21. Findings and Discussion
E-Organization: The first function of e-government analyzed
using regression, e-organization, suggests that three factors
influence its development.
The probability of more advanced practices in e-organization
increases with the presence of an IT department within a
municipality.
As hypothesized, municipalities that devote a larger
percentage of their yearly budget to IT development and
initiatives are expected to have more advanced e-
government practices. Increased city revenue has been
found to correlate significantly with the likelihood of
technological adoptions.
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The second factor influencing e-organization
development is municipal population. in this
study, population and e-organization were
found to have a negative relationship; that is,
more advanced developments were found in
the smallest municipalities.
This finding suggests that the smaller a
municipality, the greater the focus on e-
organization.
Findings and Discussion

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 The final factor influencing e-organization is
CAOs’ perspectives on specific functions.
 It was hypothesized that if a CAO has a positive
view toward e-organization, then the municipality
he/she serves will have more advanced
developments in e-organization.
 The findings here show that there is a clear
relationship between how a CAO views the
function of e-organization and a municipality’s
practice of it.
 The remaining functions corroborate the
importance a CAO’s role in e-government
development.
Findings and Discussion

24. Findings and Discussion
E-Services: Five variables are recognized as contributing factors
to the development of e-services. The first two variables are both
associated with a municipality’s form of government. Having a
mayor-council form of government is negatively associated
with the practice of e-services, while the council-manager form
of government has a positive association.
So, these findings support previous research that
the council-manager form of government
fosters advanced practices in e-government.
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E-Services: Strategic planning also has a positive
relationship with e-services. Having a strategic
plan increases the probability of a municipality
engaging in advanced practices in e-services.
Strategic planning is critical to the advancement
of e-government functions.
Findings and Discussion

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E-Services:
 The final two factors associated with e-
services are based on CAOs’ perspectives.
 This finding reinforces the role of CAOs in the
progress of e-government.
Findings and Discussion

27. E-Partnering: Six variables are recognized as
contributing factors toward the development of e-
partnering.
The first variable to indicate a positive
relationship with e-partnering is strategic
planning.
The next three variables are based on CAOs’
perspectives on the functions of e-government. Positive
views toward e-organization and e-partnering correlate
with more advanced practices in e-partnering.
Findings and Discussion
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 E-Partnering:
A negative relationship was found between male
CAOs and the practice of e-partnering; or rather,
in municipalities in which CAOs are female, the
practice of e-partnering was more advanced,
supporting the research hypothesis.
Findings and Discussion

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E-Partnering:
The final factor of significance in e-partnering is
education. Specifically, in municipalities in
which a CAO holds an MPA, the practice of e-
partnering was found to be more advanced.
This finding supports the hypothesis, which was
based on the rationale that MPA programs offer
courses in e-government
Findings and Discussion

30. E-Democracy: Three variables are associated with the
development of e-democracy. As with e-services, having a
mayor-council form of government is negatively associated with
the practice of e-democracy a surprising finding.
The findings for the remaining two variables associated with
CAOs’ perspectives on e-democracy and e-organization support
the hypotheses.
An examination of the political views and affiliations of CAOs may
also lend greater insight into the performance of e-democracy.
Findings and Discussion
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E-Democracy: Positive views toward e-
organization are associated with more
advanced e-democracy practices. It may be
that CAOs who perceive strong internal
workings within an organization feel more
comfortable advocating advanced online
democratic practices.
Findings and Discussion

32. Conclusion
The overall findings of this study suggest that
municipalities will develop more advanced practices in e-
organization and e-services in the future.
The use of technology for the functions of e-partnering
and e-democracy are currently in their earliest stages of
development. Data analysis also suggests that factors
such as whether a municipality has an IT department and
a strategic plan and its form of government all
influence e-government. Overall, the findings for small
municipalities reflect the general findings of previous
research on e-government for large municipalities.
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33. Thanks for your attention!
Saying “no” is not the answer
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