Grounded theory analysis of e-government initiatives: Exploring perceptions of government authorities

Abstract E-government is one of the primary keywords in information revolution. This study explores perceptions about information systems/information technology (IS/IT) held by government authorities, identifies what problems they have in IS/IT initiatives in governments and how they are reacting to these problems. Twenty-six government authorities were interviewed to reveal their underlying perceptions about IS/IT initiatives in their agencies. After analyzing their interview transcripts using an open coding scheme suggested by Strauss and Corvin, forty-nine constructs were revealed, refined, and categorized. Major problems that they have were concerning organizational, technical, and human resource issues while they face these challenges with proper management of changes, relationship building, and pre-meditated risk management plans. It seems that “growing systems” is an overarching theme in terms of IS/IT in the government sector.