Opening the Black Box of Leadership in the Successful Development of Local E-Government Initiative in a Developing Country

Abstract

Leadership has been identified as one of the critical factors in the successful development of e-government projects especially so in developing countries. Unfortunately, empirical studies linking the outcome of e-government projects and the role of leadership are very limited. Moreover, these studies did not comprehensively discuss the role of leadership in implementing e-government projects involving social, political, and technological transformation. Using the four moments of Actor Network Theory (ANT) translation framework, this paper presents detailed actions taken by leaders in the development of a local e-government project. The paper argues that ANT translation provides an appropriate framework to trace and monitor how leadership has been practiced effectively in an e-government project in a developing country.