E-government in local governments’ websites

Fabrício Neves,Polyana Silva

doi:10.16930/2237-7662202131602

Abstract

The literature perceives governments’ websites as an effective tool for increasing information delivery, user interaction, and the government services’ supply, being the most visible aspects of citizens concerning public management. However, the interaction of citizens with governments is still unclear. The practical implications of conducting e-government, capable of expanding this relationship, are still invisible. This study aims to provide an understanding of how governments’ websites are used as an e-government tool in local governments, highlighting how e-government concepts have been empirically employed. The study takes a qualitative approach, examining five municipalities in a microregion in the Brazilian state of Bahia. We gathered the data using a triangulation process that included semi-structured interviews, analysis of the websites, and opinion questionnaires to the citizens. Our research shows that governments lack compelling actions and coordinated internal procedures, resulting in a gap between practice and digital governance policies, resulting in low citizens' participation, and unfamiliarity with government communication channels. The study contributes to the e-government literature by offering further insight into how people and organizations influence technology use, providing elements that can guide motivated public managers to increase relationships and communication with society. We highlight the need to investigate the phenomenon of digital transformation in governments at the organizational level.

Highlights

Providing public services through digital platforms is a growing trend (Hautamäki & Oksanen, 2018)
To analyze how e-government concepts have been employed in local governments, we examined how governments’ websites are used as e-government support tools
When analyzing governments’ websites, we identified a diversity of companies providing hosting and maintenance services for the municipalities

Summary

Introduction

Providing public services through digital platforms is a growing trend (Hautamäki & Oksanen, 2018). These platforms, known as public portals, are websites where a municipal, state or federal public organization makes information or services available to citizens. The intention with their use is that these public portals (hereafter governments’ websites or just websites) become communication spaces, enabling interaction with their users at a click away. Despite the relevance of these studies, which seek to observe how well the websites' prerequisites meet legal aspects, a fundamental aspect is left aside: the interaction between the social actors that are part of the government-citizen relationship

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Conclusion