E-government can utilise the many new technologies to offer better services. Given the potential benefits of e-government, it is crucial to understand how to successfully achieve agile responses with e-government systems. An agile response in e-government, is when government employees use technology and are very effective in their role. The transformation of technology and collaboration methods, driven by the e-government systems, forces government employees to reconsider their daily workflow and collaboration with colleagues.
Despite the extensive existing knowledge of technology usage and collaboration, there are limitations in explaining the synergy between technology usage and group collaboration in achieving agile responses, from the perspective of government employees.
To address these challenges, this study provides a holistic understanding of the successful pathway to an agile response in e-governance, from the perspective of government employees. Two parallel paths are needed to achieve an agile response in e-governance. This study identifies five layers of mechanisms that lead to an agile response in e-governance, considering both the government-employee technology usage path, and the group collaboration path.
The dual pathways are as follows: Level 5 is positioned at the bottom of the model. It includes the fundamental factors that contribute to an agile response in e-governance, including ease of use, usefulness, and being traceable. Traceable in this context is more related to government employees’ work flow.
Levels 2, 3, and 4, are the intermediate factors, which play a bridging role, and are mainly composed of system quality, technology mindfulness, software reliance, communication transparency, trust, and collaboration efficiency. Specifically, system quality, technology mindfulness, and software reliance belong to the government employee technology usage pathway, while communication transparency, trust, and collaboration efficiency belong to the government employee collaboration pathway.
Level 1, at the top of the model is the ultimate goal, an agile response in e-governance. This research shows that to achieve an agile response in e-government, both the perspective of government employee technology usage, and the perspective of group collaboration efficiency must be taken into account.
Reference
Bao Y., Cheng X., Su L. & Zarifis A. (2024) ‘Achieving employees’ agile response in e-governance: Exploring the synergy of technology and group collaboration’, Group Decision and Negotiation. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10726-024-09911-y (open access)
