Factors that Explain the Perceived Effectiveness of E-Government: A Survey of United States City Government Information Technology Directors

This article examines the perceived effectiveness of e-government through a survey of city government Information Technology (IT) directors in the United States. The existing survey literature on e-government has primarily examined the features of e-government in terms of content and accessibility. This study is different in that it examines the performance of e-government through the lens of IT directors who should have knowledge on how effective e-government is for their city government. This research uses the citizen-initiated contacts with government literature as a way of understanding e-government effectiveness. Exploratory factor analysis reveals that e-government effectiveness is explained by management capacity, security and privacy, and collaboration in city governments. Of the three factors, the regression analysis carried out in this research indicated that management capacity and collaboration influenced e-government effectiveness. There was no evidence that security and privacy had a statistically significant impact on e-government effectiveness. The results of this study confirm much of the existing qualitative research that management capacity and collaboration are critical elements of e-government adoption. [Article copies are available for purchase from InfoSci-on-Demand. com]