Brunel Business School - Doctoral Symposium 27th & 28th March 2012
Student First Name: Wesam
Student Second Name: Alabdallat
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Brunel Business School - Doctoral Symposium 27th & 28th March 2012
Evaluation of E-government Services Quality: A Business Perspective
Abstract
This summary offers an introduction to e-government definition, classifications and services
quality evaluation. The research aim that represents the research problem or the motivation
for applying this research is then mentioned. The summary is continued by presenting the
research objectives in which approaching the methodology is tackled and. Finally, the
Jordanian e-government services as the research context are undertaken and brief of egovernment initiative within this context is also addressed.
1. Introduction
1.1 E-Government Definition
E-government is still an exploratory knowledge area and consequently it is difficult to define
e-government accurately Davies, (2007), however the most used definition of e-Government
and the one adopted by this research is the definition adapted from Cascadis, 2007.
According to Cascadis' definition E-Government is “the continuous transformation of public
sector internal and external relationships through internet-enabled operations, information
and communication technology to optimize service delivery, constituency participation and
public governance.”
1.2 Classification of E-Government Services Interaction
It is strongly believed that the essence of government centers on relationships (Asgarkhani,
2005). Therefore, one of the major concerns of e-services is to interconnect various
stakeholders with the government entities. However, due to the diversity of stakeholders'
Brunel Business School - Doctoral Symposium 27th & 28th March 2012
needs, e-services are classified into different realms: citizens, businesses, government and
employees. These categories are abbreviated respectively into G2C, G2B which present the
interaction of government with external users, and G2E, G2G which are for internal purposes
(Backus, 2001). Figure 2.1 adopted from Wei and Zhao (2005) with a slight modification to
include G2E shows the different e-services' interactions.
Figure 2.1: E-government Services Interaction with Community Sectors
As the research will focus on the interaction between the government and business sector
,Government-to-Business (G2B) transactions include various services and information
exchanged between government (the public sector) and the business community (the private
sector), including obtaining current business information, downloading application forms,
renewing licenses, registering businesses, obtaining permits, and payment of taxes (Fang,
2002). Moreover, they include: dissemination of policies, memos, rules and regulations to the
business community (Davies, 2007).
Brunel Business School - Doctoral Symposium 27th & 28th March 2012
2. Research Aim (Research problem)
The rationale of the research is based on conclusions in the literature that e-government
service evaluation has not been given adequate attention, and there are number of voids
which exist in the immature e-government literature regarding its service evaluation (Esteves
and Joseph, 2008). This has led to experiences with e-government initiatives in the public
sector being unmanageable, and the development of on-line transactional services being in its
infant stage, despite recent initiatives on e-government worldwide (Layne and Lee, 2001;
McClure, 2000; Stowers, 1999). While there are many emerging programs and IT projects on
e-government throughout the world in all levels of government, the life-cycle of the
performance evaluation process has not been comprehensively studied and analysed
(Montagna, 2005).
As a result, a framework of e-government services quality evaluation is not well
acknowledged, and evaluation factors that influence the decision-making process in
government during the process of e-government service' quality evaluation have not been
identified. Therefore there is a need to develop a comprehensive frame of reference to help
public sector organizations to evaluate the services quality of e-government. This frame of
reference reduces the confusion surrounding the process in service quality evaluation in the
public sector and provides better understanding of aspects related to e-government and their
impact on e-government service quality evaluation. The proposed frame of reference may
also support government organizations that have already proceeded to e-government service
quality evaluation by allowing them to recognize and evaluate the degree of maturity of their
e-government progress. Accordingly, the aim proposed for this research is:
Brunel Business School - Doctoral Symposium 27th & 28th March 2012
"To develop a frame of references that will outline the service quality evaluation process of egovernment from business perspective which can be used to support the decision process in
government organizations"
3. Research objectives & Dissertation outlines
In order to tackle the research problem, the methodology will be approached through the
following steps:
■
To review and analyze the literature in the area of information systems' Evaluation in
general, with particular emphasis on literature on e-government service quality evaluation
and identify its evaluation factors being applied within public sector organizations from
business perspective.
■
To develop a conceptual framework, based on literature review and critical analysis that
can be used to support the evaluation of e-government service quality in public sector
organizations.
■
To test and validate the accuracy of the proposed framework through an empirical study
of the experiences of government case organizations:
▣ To sample case organizations that have well established e-government services'
adoption.
▣ To register barriers and benefits they experienced while evaluating the service
quality of e-government projects.
■
To revise and develop a frame of reference, based on the empirical work analysis, that
can be translated into a strategic framework for e-government service quality evaluation.
Brunel Business School - Doctoral Symposium 27th & 28th March 2012
4. The Research Context: E-government in Jordan
Jordan is a relatively small Arab developing country in the Middle East with inadequate
natural resources, such as: water and oil. The economy depends largely on services, the
tourism sector and foreign aid (Country Review Jordan, 2010). Moreover, the country is
landlocked between Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Palestine and Israel. Amman is the capital city; the
official religion is Islam with 92% of the citizens being Muslims, 6% Christians. Arabic is
the official language, but English is widely spoken and understood as well. Figure 2 shows
the geographical location of Jordan and the main cities.
Figure 2: Jordan geographical map (Wordtravels, 2011)
The e-Government initiative in Jordan has been one of a number of ICT related
initiatives launched with the succession of King Abdullah II. to the throne in 1999, the aim of
which is to transform the country into a knowledge-based economy. Jordan's national eGovernment program aims to provide government and agencies with services throughout
various electronic channels such as internet, SMS gate, mail and others where work is in
progress to develop a number of electronic services (Al-Jaghoub et al., 2010). According to
Brunel Business School - Doctoral Symposium 27th & 28th March 2012
the Ministry of Information & Communication Technology (MoICT, 2006), the aims of the
e-government program are as follows:
•
Deliver high-quality services to consumers, businesses and organizations
•
Improve government performance and efficiency
•
Enhance Jordan’s competitiveness
•
Ensure public sector transparency and accountability
•
Reduce costs and increase ease of interaction with government
•
Promote development of Jordan’s ICT sector
•
Develop skills within the public sector
•
Boost e-commerce activities
•
Improve information security
Brunel Business School - Doctoral Symposium 27th & 28th March 2012
References
Al-Jaghoub, S., Al-Yaseen, H. & Al-Hourani, M. (2010) "Evaluation of Awareness and
Acceptability of Using eGovernment Services in Developing Countries: the Case of Jordan",
The Electronic Journal of Information Systems Evaluation, vol. 13, no. 1, pp 1 – 8.
Asgarkhani, M. (2005) 'The effectiveness of e-service in local government: A case study, The
Electronic Journal of e- Government, 3 (4) 157-166.
Backus, M. (2001). ‘E-governance and developing countries: introduction and examples’,
International Institute for Communication and Development (IICD)
Cascadis (2007). Benchmark Dutch local councils in electronic government in
2007.Apeldoorn:
Ron
Zwetsloot.
Retrieved
November
12,
2007,
from
http://www.webdata.net/cascadis/doc/CAS_BenchmarkNLgemeentenindeELOanno2007.pdf
Davies, P. (2007) Models for E-Government, Transforming Government: People, Process and
Policy. 1: 1 pp7–28.
Esteves, J and Joseph, R (2008), A comprehensive framework for the assessment of
eGovernment projects, Government Information Quarterly, 25(1): 118–132
Fang, Z. 2002. 'E-Government in Digital Era: Concept, Practice and Development'.
International Journal of the Computer, The Internet and Management, 10(2): 1-22.
Brunel Business School - Doctoral Symposium 27th & 28th March 2012
Layne, K. and Lee, J. (2001), Developing fully functional e-government: A four stage model,
Government Information Quarterly, 18(2): 122-136
Ministry of Information & Communication Technology (MoICT, 2006)
Montagna J 2005. 'A framework for the assessment and analysis of electronic government
proposals. An Electronic Commerce Researcher and Application.
McClure, D. (2000), “Electronic government: federal initiatives are evolving rapidly but they
face significant challenges”, Accounting and Information Management Division, available at:
www.gao.gov/new.items/a200179t.pdf
Wei, X. and Zaho, J. (2005) Citizens Requirement Analysis in Chinese e-government,
Proceeding of the 7th International Conference on Electronic Commerce, ACM International
Conference Proceeding Series, 113, 525-428
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