A Multi-Disciplinary Analysis of e-Governance: A Review

PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

The gradual emergence of an Internet-connected global society has added an entirely new dimension to meaning to the letter “e”. Information and communication technologies have reconfigured different sectors of society, and their permeation of the public sector has yielded concepts such as Electronic governance (e-Governance) and Electronic Government (e-Government). Understanding and managing e-Governance, which draws from multiple and diverse disciplines, is a challenging and sometimes unwieldy task. Yet it must be managed, and its potentials harnessed, if government is to fulfil its mission and remain responsive within the context of a rapidly changing society. Deliberate efforts must be made to stabilize and clarify its operational definitions; to ensure that the field develops in a holistic, systematic manner; and to manage the accumulation and furtherance of e-Governance knowledge so that lessons and best practices can be disseminated and adapted in relevant, context-specific ways. This paper proposes a starting point for the deliberate, systematic, and holistic development of e-Governance. It analyzes the multidisciplinary nature of e-Governance from six perspectives, provides a framework that facilitates the systematizing of current and future materials into an organized body of knowledge, and proposes a methodology for identifying knowledge gaps and framing research issues.

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