Adaptability among e-governance projects in India: extending the adaptive capacity wheel framework

Abstract

Lack of adaptability has been identified as a major roadblock in the success of e-Governance projects. The current research explores existing literature from strategic management and e-Governance to reconceptualise adaptability which is operationalised as adaptive capacity building based on the adaptive capacity wheel framework. We analyse adaptive capacity across four major e-Governance G2C projects in India by utilising secondary data sources and interpretive qualitative analysis across four case studies. Indicators of adaptive capacity were identified and further developed to present an expansive operationalisation of the dimensions of adaptive capacity. It is posited that adaptive capacity comprises multiple capabilities: ability to conceptualise a problem across multiple stakeholders, ability to learn, ability to sense and monitor the projects, ability to reconfigure, and ability to control costs of the project. We also cross-compare our results through a fuzzy AHP approach. The study contributes to both theory and practice by presenting an integrative approach to adaptability in an e-Governance context.