E-Government in Saudi Arabia: Between Promise and Reality

Saudi Arabia is in the process of transitioning to e-government. Many of the Saudi government agencies have their own web sites; however, most are ineffective. Based on the findings of this study, the Saudis should consider several reforms, chief among which include the following: Increasing the awareness of its e-government program among its employees and the public at-large; making Internet access more available across the full spectrum of society; equipping public facilities for Internet usage; developing a legal framework for secure e-transactions; adopting a flexible approach to technological change and the IT environment more generally; providing IT training to government employees; partnering with the private sector to establish electronic fund transfers; and, finally, fostering 2-way communication between government agencies and between the government and the public.

[1]  Christopher Abbott,et al.  Handbook of Research on Social Software and Developing Community Ontologies , 2009 .

[2]  Matthew A. Jones,et al.  E-Government Website Development: Future Trends and Strategic Models , 2010 .

[3]  Maria Manuela Cunha,et al.  Encyclopedia of Networked and Virtual Organizations , 2007 .

[4]  James Melitski,et al.  Digital Government Worldwide: A e-Government Assessment of Municipal Web Sites , 2005, Int. J. Electron. Gov. Res..

[5]  Willem Pieterson,et al.  Citizens and Service Channels: Channel Choice and Channel Management Implications , 2010, Int. J. Electron. Gov. Res..

[6]  Joshua Teitelbaum,et al.  Dueling for Da'wa: State vs. Society on the Saudi Internet , 2002 .

[7]  Wing Lam,et al.  Networked Communities: Strategies for Digital Collaboration , 2010 .

[8]  Christopher G. Reddick,et al.  Handbook of Research on Strategies for Local E-Government Adoption and Implementation: Comparative Studies , 2009 .

[9]  Alessio Malizia,et al.  Exploiting Collaborative Tagging Systems to Unveil the User-Experience of Web Contents: An Operative Proposal , 2009 .

[10]  Fabien L. Gandon,et al.  A Wiki on the Semantic Web , 2008 .

[11]  Hakikur Rahman.  Community-Based Information Networking in Developing Countries , 2008 .

[12]  Mamoun Fandy,et al.  CyberResistance: Saudi Opposition Between Globalization and Localization , 1999, Comparative Studies in Society and History.

[13]  Gillian Ragsdell,et al.  Linking Communities of Practice and Project Teams in the Construction Industry , 2006 .

[14]  Mark K. Cassell,et al.  Engaging Citizens on the Internet: An Assessment of Local Governments in Ohio , 2010, Int. J. Electron. Gov. Res..

[15]  Jerzy Kisielnicki,et al.  Virtual Technologies: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications , 2008 .

[16]  Duska Rosenberg,et al.  Role of Trust in Virtual and Co-Located Communities of Practice , 2006 .

[17]  Teresa Torres-Coronas,et al.  Higher Creativity for Virtual Teams: Developing Platforms for Co-Creation , 2007 .

[18]  Bram Klievink,et al.  The Role of Intermediaries in Multi-Channel Service Delivery Strategies , 2009, Int. J. Electron. Gov. Res..

[19]  Thomas Beale.  Requirements for a Regional Information Infrastructure for Sustainable Communities-The Case for Community Informatics , 2000 .

[20]  Demosthenes Akoumianakis.  New Media, Communities, and Social Practice: An Introductory Tutorial , 2009 .

[21]  Robert A. Cropf,et al.  The Prospects for eGovernment and eGovernance in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Case Study of Zambia , 2010, Int. J. Electron. Gov. Res..

[22]  Kate Alport,et al.  Citizens to Netizens: Grass-Roots Driven Democracy and E-Democracy in South America , 2007, Int. J. Electron. Gov. Res..

[23]  Barbara Miller,et al.  Electronic Government, Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications. Ari-Veikko Anttiroiko, Ed. New York: Information Science Reference, 2008, 4, 780 pp. $1950.00, ISBN 978-1-59904-947-2. Online access only: $1850.00 , 2010, Gov. Inf. Q..

[24]  Jörg Rech,et al.  Emerging Technologies for Semantic Work Environments: Techniques, Methods, and Applications , 2008 .

[25]  Christopher Bodnar,et al.  Community Informatics: Enabling Communities with Information and Communications Technologies , 2000 .

[26]  Ulrich J. Franke.  Managing Virtual Web Organizations in the 21st Century: Issues and Challenges , 2002 .

[27]  David Judkins,et al.  Teaching Shakespeare Online in a Virtual Classroom , 2008 .

[28]  J. Córdoba-Pachón,et al.  Systems Thinking and E-participation: Ict in the Governance of Society , 2009 .

[29]  Saber Zrelli,et al.  Navigation at the Internet Front Line , 2008 .

[30]  Damon Guy,et al.  Encyclopedia of Virtual Communities and Technologies , 2007 .

[31]  Paul T. Jaeger,et al.  Public Libraries and Local E-Government , 2009 .

[32]  Thomas Leerberg.  A Spatial Environment for Design Dialogue , 2007 .

[33]  Karen Rohrbauck Stout.  Computer Mediated Technology as Tools for Social Interaction and Educational Processes: The Implications for Developing Virtual Teams , 2008 .

[34]  Leo Tan Wee Hin,et al.  Virtual Government in Singapore , 2006 .

[35]  Niki Lambropoulos.  Sociability and Usability for Active Participation , 2006 .