| E-government has been recognized as a powerful tool for government administrative reform (CEG, 2001; Heeks, 1999; Kraemer & King, 2003). Information technologies have the potential not only to improve the quality of services, but also to produce cost savings and make government policies and programs more effective (Bourquard, 2003; Garson, 2004; Gartner, 2000; Gronlund, 2001). Despite the great potential benefits from e-government, scholars and practitioners contend that information technologies (IT) in general and electronic government in particular have not yet accomplished the promise of a more efficient, effective, and democratic public administration (Cook, LaVigne, Pagano, Dawes, & Pardo, 2002; Davies, 2004; Garson, 2004). In fact, Heeks (2003) estimates that the failure rate of these projects could be as high as 85%.; Nevertheless, spending in e-government initiatives continues to rise (Gartner, 2000), and among these projects, Internet-based applications are increasingly important. Using a nested research design, this study explores the complex relationships among the relative success of state websites and certain organizational, institutional, and contextual factors. Thus, this research is guided by two interrelated questions: (1) To what extent are state e-government websites shaped by different organizational, institutional, and contextual factors? and (2) To what extent are organizational, institutional, and contextual factors affected by the existence and characteristics of state e-government websites?; Digital government research seeks to be bath theoretically sound and practically useful. In order to clearly establish this link, this study develops knowledge about e-government success in complex government settings. Findings range from exploring and establishing relationships between state website functionality and multiple types of factors to providing initial explanations of the mechanisms and dynamics found in different contexts. Overall, this study provides evidence of the influence of organizational, institutional, and contextual factors, and their interrelationships, on the success of e-government. It also shows that the relative impact of these factors can vary in accordance with specific initiatives and environmental conditions. |
