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Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to explore empirically the complexities of e-government implementation and diffusion from a developing country perspective. Design/methodology/approach - An empirical case study using an interview-based research agenda is adopted. After reviewing the extant literature on e-government, the paper first proposes a conceptual model, which is consequently used to explore empirically, within the State of Qatar, the key challenges influencing e-government implementation and diffusion from organisational, technological, social and political perspectives. Findings - The conceptual model proposed in this study offers a comprehensive overview of the implementation and diffusion challenges of e-government through identifying various factors associated with organisational, technological, social and political perspectives from the literature. Through adopting an empirical research strategy focusing on developing countries that are not in an advanced state of e-government development, this study offers a holistic view in understanding e-government implementation and diffusion complexities for the benefit of similar countries. Research limitations/implications - This research only focuses on exploring empirically the implementation and diffusion challenges facing e-government in one developing country and does not investigate how these challenges may influence citizens'' adoption of these services in that country or in a wider context. Practical implications - The conceptual model in this study offers practitioners, policy makers and researchers a comprehensive overview of the implementation and diffusion challenges of e-government projects, particularly in developing countries. The key findings of this study show that, irrespective of strong financial support and resources, governments must be prepared to tackle a number of challenges related to the complexity of e-government implementation and diffusion. In addition, the study indicates that better alignment of national ICT strategies with various local level e-government projects, clear legislation, implementation guidelines and standards are imperative for e-government success. Originality/value - The core contribution of this research adds to the growing body of knowledge concerning the implementation and diffusion of e-government in developing countries. In particular, the conceptual model formulated through the synthesis of extant literature offers researchers and practitioners a lens to better appreciate the key challenges that require consideration when implementing and diffusing e-government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a plethora of theories to explore the disciplines of business, management and sociology, with institutional theory being widely used to explore a range of research challenges. In the area of Information Systems (IS), the use of institutional theory remains in its infancy, with much potential for adoption. Much of the rationale underpinning the proposed research is that a systematic review and synthesis of the normative literature may support the direction of further research and the use of institutional theory in exploring pertinent research challenges facing the IS community. This study also serves to signpost cross-disciplinary research, and thus opens up a whole new research paradigm. Therefore, this article seeks to provide a bibliometric analysis and a comprehensive and systematic review of the literature pertaining to institutional theory to ascertain the current ‘state of play’ of the theory. Information on a series of variables was extracted after conducting a review of 511 articles across various disciplines that have utilised institutional theory, published in 210 peer-reviewed journals between 1978 and 2008. The findings suggest that the positivist paradigm, empirical and quantitative research, the survey method and organisation/firm as a unit of analysis was used predominantly in combination with institutional theory. The results of this study may have implications for researchers, journal editors, reviewers and universities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The considerable success achieved with information and communications technologies (ICTs) within the private sector has influenced various stakeholders (including the government) to link up public sector services with the internet revolution. This is being achieved by making expeditious attempts to provide online public sector products and services on a nationwide basis. However, there are certain regions and groups of the populace in a country where this aim will not be achieved. Aims to focus on this. Design/methodology/approach - Using two comparative case studies and a combination of qualitative and quantitative data, this research identifies the challenges being faced by the UK government in ensuring e-government products and services to both the rural and urban areas. The London Borough of Hillingdon is used to illustrate the case of the urban area, whilst Conwy County Borough Council is the rural case. Findings - The research found that while citizens' backgrounds influenced accessibility to e-government services in the urban area, geographic location related issues were posing problems to the same in the rural area. Practical implications - While illustrating a digital divide, this implies that the UK government still has challenges to overcome, as it has to obtain and convince the citizens to attain internet access that will allow them to acquire the online products and services offered by the government. Amongst other challenges to be encountered are how to overcome the organisational and technical issues that could impede the desired integration of business processes and technologies across government institutions for effective e-governance. Originality/value - Addresses issues that the UK has to overcome in providing online public sector products and services offered by the government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses an ongoing research programme, which explores the development of the software-as-a-service business model by different service providers (xSPs). With the demise of the first phase of the ASP market, due to the failure of vendors to provide business value to potential and existing customers, Web services promise to resolve some of these problems by integrating software applications across heterogeneous technology platforms and business environments. Whether this will be achieved is the subject of continuing debate. This paper presents the preliminary findings from a study, which uses the Microsoft .NET technology platform to develop Web services. Two Web-enabled prototype databases are discussed. The paper concludes that Web services is still relatively new, but if key technical and business challenges are resolved, it may provide value for the customer where ASPs failed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The quest for service excellence and competitive edge by firms result in the constant search for effective process and information systems management methods. The recent emergence of the application service provision (ASP) business model has promised firms remote-access to industry robust business processes and "best of breed" enterprise applications on a rental basis. This paper examines how the ASP business model facilitates business process and information systems improvements in firms through effective process management. This is pursued through a review of relevant literature and empirical evidence gathered from a case study-based investigation in six firms in the UK. By examining the features of remote application and business process outsourcing in the context of business process management, this paper outlines how firms can improve their business and IT performance. Findings from empirical evidence are used to substantiate the arguments and suggest areas for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]