Conceptual Framework for Context-Based E-Government Interoperability Development

Abstract

Purpose – The aim of the paper is to analyse the development aspects of e-government interoperability as dynamic, multidimensional and context-based organisational capability and to propose a conceptual framework for contextualisation of e-government interoperability development research and practice. Design/methodology/approach – Methods of systemic analysis along with the comparative analysis and generalisation were used to define the concept of e-government interoperability, classify the leading methods applied in its development and determine the contextual factors that might impact e-government interoperability research and practice. Findings – To meet the requirements of the implementation processes of contemporary e-government solutions, interoperability is understood and examined as the mix of dynamic, multidimensional and context-dependant dynamic capabilities of diverse public sector organisations to reach common goals through alliance and integration of their business processes and technological systems. The conceptual framework for context-based e-government interoperability development is proposed in this paper. It integrates three contextual layers important for dynamic capabilities such as processes, asset position and path-dependency with the main contextual factors that has been indicated as highly important in the recent e-government research. Research limitations/implications – This paper is a theoretical study of the essential e-government interoperability aspect – its context-dependability – that determines not only the adaptability level of various related political, managerial and technological methods, but also the rigour of research in the field. However, the presented conceptual framework for context-based e-government interoperability development is of the high abstraction level and integrates only the main perspectives, principles and elements of interoperability contextualisation. It should be further supplemented with concrete operationalisational context factors extracted from the empirical research in the domain. Practical implications – The proposed conceptual framework for context-based e-government interoperability development suggests policy makers, public managers and related private sector organisations to assess technical and evolutionary fitness of dynamic organisational capabilities for interoperability before starting any cross-organisational e-government initiative or adopting any leading method for interoperability enforcement taken from different than its deployment context. It should be done through the analysis of related processes, asset position and path-dependency factors of all participating parties. It is also recommended to incorporate these principles of context analysis in the research of e-government interoperability phenomena and its enforcement methods. Originality/Value – This research addresses a complex issue of e-government interoperability contextualization and offers a conceptual framework which not only embraces the main context factors identified in the previous e-government research, but also integrates the contextualization approach from the theory of dynamic organizational capabilities that are the core of contemporary e-government interoperability concept. Research type: viewpoint, literature review.