Where to Go in the Near Future: Diverging Perspectives on Online Public Service Delivery

Although the electronic government is under heavy development, a clear vision doesn't seem to exist. In this study 20 interviews among leaders in the field of e-government in the Netherlands resulted in different perspectives on the future of electronic public service delivery. The interviews revealed different objectives and interpretations of the presuppositions regarding citizens' desires. Opinions about channel approaches and 'trigger services' appeared to vary. Furthermore, the respondents didn't agree on the number of contact moments between citizen and government, had different opinions about digital skills, pled for various designs of the electronic government and placed the responsibility for electronic service delivery in different hands. Conclusion is that there is a lack of concepts on how to do things. Everybody talks about eGovernment, but all have different interpretations.

[1]  Victor Bekkers The Governance of Back Office Integration in E-Government: Some Dutch Experiences , 2005, EGOV.

[2]  J. V. Dijk Digital divide research, achievements and shortcomings , 2006 .

[3]  Terri Gullickson,et al.  Qualitative Methods in Organizational Research: A Practical Guide. , 1995 .

[4]  A.M.B. Lips,et al.  Klantgericht werken in de publieke sector : introductie , 2001 .

[5]  Alexander Johannes Aloysius Maria van Deursen,et al.  The Internet as a Service Channel in the Public Sector : A substitute or complement of traditional service channels? , 2006 .

[6]  Alexander van Deursen,et al.  E-Services for Citizens: The Dutch Usage Case , 2007, EGOV.

[7]  Jatinder N. D. Gupta,et al.  Building Blocks of an E-Government: A Framework , 2003, J. Electron. Commer. Organ..

[8]  John Carlo Bertot,et al.  E-Government: initiatives, developments, and issues , 2002, Gov. Inf. Q..

[9]  Alexander van Deursen,et al.  Why E-government Usage Lags Behind: Explaining the Gap Between Potential and Actual Usage of Electronic Public Services in the Netherlands , 2006, EGOV.

[10]  Nigel King,et al.  The qualitative research interview , 1994 .

[11]  Hans Jochen Scholl,et al.  Is E-Government Research a Flash in the Pan or Here for the Long Shot? , 2006, EGOV.

[12]  C. Cassell,et al.  Qualitative Methods in Organizational Research , 2004 .

[13]  Johannes A.G.M. van Dijk,et al.  Governmental Service Channel Positioning: History and Strategies for the Future , 2006 .

[14]  Paul T. Jaeger,et al.  E-government around the world: lessons, challenges, and future directions , 2003, Gov. Inf. Q..

[15]  Åke Grönlund,et al.  e-Gov Research Quality Improvements Since 2003: More Rigor, but Research (Perhaps) Redefined , 2006, EGOV.

[16]  Tânia Margarete Mezzomo Keinert,et al.  Reinventing government: how the entrepreneurial spirit is transforming the public sector , 1993 .

[17]  A.J.A.M. van Deursen,et al.  Van aanbod naar vraag, tijd voor een perspectiefwisseling: Verkennend onderzoek naar het gebruik van elektronische overheidsdiensten, door burgers in Nederland, 2005 , 2006 .