E‐government adoption in Europe at regional level

Abstract

PurposeThe aim of this investigation is to examine the level of adoption of e‐government at the regional level in Europe in terms of eight different categories addressing both services provided, internal capacity in terms of training and policies, and perceived barriers to e‐government.Design/methodology/approachA survey approach was employed to achieve the overall aim of the study, based on existing survey instruments and informed by the requirements of policy makers. A survey of 1,021 municipalities across seven European regions was conducted in order to ascertain the development of e‐government.FindingsThe findings suggest that despite e‐government being heavily promoted throughout the Europe, there is relatively little commonality across regions evident to date. The study identifies a number of areas for improvement within the eight categories investigated.Research limitations/implicationsThe desired minimum confidence level and confidence interval was not realised across all regions. It would be appropriate to conduct further investigations which include larger (non‐UK) administrative bodies in order that progress made by comparable organizations may be evaluated. Although the study includes results from municipalities in seven regions, it would be desirable to expand the scope of the investigation.Originality/valueThe primary value of this paper lies in the size of the sample derived at regional rather than national level, the resulting data extending our understanding of the adoption of information and communication technologies within municipalities at regional level in Europe.