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2007 Information Polity
In this introductory article, innovation is defined as a necessary condition for the modernization of public administration. The nature of innovation and the innovative potential of ICT will be explored. However, it is argued that the up to now this potential has not been fully exploited, due to the one-sidedness or internal orientation of the ICT-driven public innovation agenda.
Korteland, Evelien ; Bekkers, Victor
2007 Information Polity
This article examines the diffusion of an e-government innovation – called SMS-alert – among Dutch police forces. A conceptual framework for the diffusion of e-government innovations in the public sector is developed which combines a functional and a constructivist (or cultural) approach of diffusion. The framework focuses on diffusion as a mutual process of communication, learning and sense making. Based on this framework and by using data from documentation, websites and interviews, the process of diffusion and adoption of SMS-alert is reconstructed and the factors and mechanisms explaining this process are identified. The case study demonstrates that although SMS-alert has diffused rather rapidly until now, the diffusion process is currently facing some difficulties, mainly due to the existence of competing innovations. By demonstrating the importance of both the functional, political and institutional meaning of the innovation, the article confirms the value of combining different approaches in studying the diffusion of e-government innovations.
2007 Information Polity
It is argued here that Electronic Government (E-Gov) research to date has misconceived humans and technology, tending to give primacy to one or the other, but failing to grapple with their interaction. The present paper tries to remedy this by introducing an Actor-Network Theory (ANT) inspired approach in which the principle of symmetry is applied to an empirical case. This perspective emphasizes agency as a combination of actions of humans and technology, both separately and in conjunction (a "hybrid"). The research context is a computerized decision support (DSS) for portfolio management in the premium pension system in Sweden. The study shows that a system incorporating humans in conjunction with the DSS (a "hybrid") is able to make advanced economic decisions in line with pension policy by incorporating the preferences and characteristics of humans as well as the capabilities of technology. From a more general perspective, E-Gov is discussed today as a way of extending the hybridization of society, which is becoming an increasingly important component of the state's relationship with its citizens. The paper also discusses methodological implications, most importantly how to represent technology in a symmetrical analysis and how to avoid excessive detail in reporting.
2007 Information Polity
A growing number of research contributions deal with the issues of technologically mediated participation in public decision-making in an ever-wider number of disciplinary fields. As research on eParticipation begins to mushroom, the effort of the international research community in this area is being put in creating an identifiable common framework for eParticipation research. Among other instruments, trying to establish a solid body of literature to be referred to mainly pursues this. But how is this process actually evolving? Which are the currently available outcomes of this effort? What is the nature of the research framing process in progress so far? In this paper I analyse the features of a literature database on eParticipation developed within DEMO-net, the European Network of Excellence on eParticipation research. I conduct a quantitative analysis on the 651 items of the DEMO-net bibliographical library and a qualitative review of 73 items. Results show that the acknowledged literature on eParticipation features a surprisingly little occurrence of all the expected central key concepts and instruments of eParticipation, while the majority of the contributions are descriptive in nature and come from non-journal sources. Findings depict a research field still in search of a more coherent, stronger identity, and suggest the need for concept clarification and dissemination, more strictly connected to empirical and interpretative studies.
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