Cross-national analysis of the relation of eGovernment maturity and OSS growth

Abstract

The aims of this research are to explore and evaluate the nature of the relationship between open source software (OSS) and eGovernment maturity, as well as the factors impacting their development at a national level. The study proposes a theoretical framework, under the prism of which socio-economic, technological and institutional factors critical to eGovernment and OSS are revealed. The hypotheses are evaluated by means of an econometric model of simultaneous equations. In order to better gauge the results of the hypotheses, the model is evaluated over economic environments at different stages of development.Social development and OSS growth were found to be the most important facilitators for eGovernment maturity, across countries of all stages of development. Institutional quality, technological openness, freedom in press and the macro-economic environment exerted different weights of importance across different country groupings. Findings also suggest that technological infrastructure and innovation are important drivers for OSS growth across countries at all stages of development. Research results can provide useful input for research in eGov, as they open up new directions in the study of the relation with OSS.