The public value of E-Government – A literature review

Abstract

This study organizes existing research on the public value of e-government in order to investigate the current state and what value e-government is supposed to yield. The two questions that guided the research were: (1) What is the current state of research on the public value of e-government? And (2) What value is e-government supposed to yield? Six, sometimes overlapping, values were found: Improved public services; improved administrative efficiency; Open Government (OG) capabilities; improved ethical behaviour and professionalism; improved trust and confidence in government; and improved social value and well-being. These six public value dimensions were thereafter generalized into three overarching, and also overlapping, public value dimensions of Improved Public Services, Improved Administration, and Improved Social Value. The improved public services dimension influences other dimensions. Hence, this literature study theorizes a descriptive and multidimensional framework that can improve our understanding of the public value of e-government from different viewpoints, and the overlap between them in actual e-government designs and implementations. Regarding the current state of research on the public value this study found a lack of research on the public value of e-government, especially, in the context of developing countries – and more importantly – a total absence of this kind of research in the Least Developed Countries (LDCs). There is also a lack of comparative studies at national, regional, and project level; and a lack of research on the generative perspective.