Information Technology Adoption Barriers in Public Sector

Abstract

The utilization of Information Technology (IT) in the public sector became a strategic goal for many organizations to achieve their strategic goals and improve competitive advantages. The implementation of digital services on a national scale is a complex challenge requiring substantial investment in and development of Information and Telecommunication Technology (ICT) resources. The problem of integrating technology is a complex problem. In the public sector, extracting value from big investment in technology and successful implementation is challenging. Although there has been considerable research in the area of the design, development and implementation of computerized systems, there has not been an equivalent research effort in terms of investigating and exploring what are information technology adoption barriers in the public sector. This research used secondary data from published articles and internet. It is concluded that main barriers are: lack of top management support, lack of IT project management, lack of resources, lack of user's involvement, lack of awareness and training, change resistance, culture and structure changes. Main proposed change management strategies for successful IT projects adoption are top management support, more IT resources, more user's involvement in IT projects development to capture user requirements, more motivation, better interactive two ways communication, better understanding, sharing and implementation of the corporate strategy and making sure that departments strategies are aligned with corporate strategy. It is recommended to manage required structure and culture change for successful IT project implementation.