Internal factors affecting the adoption and use of government websites ...

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Electronic Government, An International Journal, Vol. 7, No. 2, 2010

Internal factors affecting the adoption and use of government websites Brian Detlor* and Maureen E. Hupfer DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4M4, Canada Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] *Corresponding author

Umar Ruhi Telfer School of Management, University of Ottawa, 55 Laurier Ave E., Ottawa, Ontario K1N 6N5, Canada Email: [email protected] Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to identify internal factors within government that affect the adoption and use of government websites. A conceptual framework, based on a literature review, guides the analysis of open-ended questionnaire responses from internal government and community workers involved in the administration of six community municipal portals in the province of Ontario, Canada. Findings suggest that key internal factors have a positive impact on the design and implementation of community municipal portals: cooperative partnerships, sound governance structures, strong leadership, effective systems development, sustainable funding and sound marketing. The ability to implement a clear and strong strategic direction is a central theme that ties these factors together. Recommendations for practitioners and managers are suggested. Findings extend previous research and highlight the importance for governments to be conscious of the internal contextual factors that affect their websites’ usage. Keywords: government websites; e-government; internal factors; IS adoption and use; community municipal portals; website strategy; website implementation. Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Detlor, B., Hupfer, M.E. and Ruhi, U. (2010) ‘Internal factors affecting the adoption and use of government websites’, Electronic Government, An International Journal, Vol. 7, No. 2, pp.120–136. Biographical notes: Brian Detlor is an Associate Professor of Information Systems and Director of the PhD Programme in Business Administration at the DeGroote School of Business. His research interests pertain to electronic government, business information literacy and web information seeking.

Copyright © 2010 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

Internal factors affecting the adoption and use of government websites

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Maureen E. Hupfer is an Associate Professor of Marketing at the DeGroote School of Business. In addition to electronic government, her research interests include gender and information processing in online environments. Umar Ruhi is a Lecturer at the Telfer School of Management at the University of Ottawa. His primary research interests include community informatics, computer-mediated communication and e-business strategies.

1

Introduction

Ample documentation exists that outlines the importance of the social and organisational factors that contribute to the success or failure of information systems initiatives (Luna-Reyes et al., 2005). For the public sector, the influencing effect of contextual factors on the adoption and use of information systems is especially true, if not more so, where political, managerial, regulatory, cultural, institutional and environmental concerns greatly influence the roll-out and implementation of delivered information systems (Gil-Garcia and Pardo, 2005). The fundamental issues and factors affecting the implementation of e-government initiatives must be thoroughly understood (Klamo et al., 2006). In response, this paper speaks to the effects of internal contextual factors on the roll-out and adoption of government websites. Government websites provide external constituents (i.e. citizens) and internal government personnel with an integrated gateway or single point of contact to online government information and resources (Gant and Gant, 2002). Touted benefits include efficiency gains in terms of time and dollars spent, as well as effectiveness enhancements in increased citizen accessibility to government resources, improved responsiveness to citizen needs, increased citizen participation in democracy and a reduction in government bureaucracy (Prins, 2001; Gronlund, 2002; Boyer-Wright and Kotterman, 2008). Of interest, concerns over the internal contextual factors affecting government website adoption and use have not received much attention by researchers. To date, most research has concentrated on end-user perceptions and characteristics (e.g. Ndou, 2004; Carter and Bélanger, 2005; Bélanger and Carter, 2008; Shareef et al., 2009; Tang et al., 2009) and technology-related factors in terms of the usability and customisation of government websites, and/or the access to and quality of a comprehensive set of information and services available on these sites (e.g. Gant and Gant, 2002; Araujo and Grande, 2003; Choudry and Ghinea, 2005; Tsai et al., 2009). To address this gap, this paper focuses attention on the internal contextual factors affecting the adoption and use of government websites. The over-arching research question is ‘what are the key internal factors affecting government website adoption and use?’ The objective is to identify these factors, pinpoint the central theme that ties these factors together, and yield recommendations to practitioners and managers. In terms of structure, a conceptual framework is first presented that outlines the internal factors within government that affect the adoption and use of government websites. From there, a research study is described that utilises the framework to guide an in-depth investigation of six community municipal portals in the province of Ontario,

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B. Detlor, M.E. Hupfer and U. Ruhi

Canada. Findings are then presented, followed by a discussion of the results along with their implications for the development and roll-out of government websites. Last, concluding remarks are made.

2

Conceptual framework

As described above, few studies have focused on the internal government factors affecting government website uptake. One such study was an investigation in the USA of the relationships between the relative success of government state websites and certain organisational, institutional and contextual factors (Gil-Garcia, 2006). A PLS analysis involving all 50 US states and two rich case studies yielded five important internal influences on the adoption and use of government websites. The first was the number of IT employees available to support the website. A complement of IT human resources dedicated to the website that was adequate to the demands of the government’s web strategy was shown to have a positive effect on the site’s functionality. The second was budget allocation. Those government websites that secured and managed sufficient financing to keep the website up-to-date were better able to deliver a functional website. In particular, government agencies that had dedicated programme budgets were more likely to deliver functional websites. The third was specialised training, in that websites that ensured sufficient training for IT development and design personnel were better able to deliver a functional government website. The fourth was in-house development and outsourcing. Governments having control over the ability to shape the design and characteristics of the website, regardless of whether these changes and modifications were made by in-house staff or outside vendors, were more likely to deliver functional websites. The last was marketing strategy, where those with strong marketing efforts attracted more usage than those with fewer or weaker marketing initiatives. Another study that performed a structurational analysis of an electronic government initiative identified similar internal factors that interact and form three core requirements for effective electronic government transformation: 1

organisational policies and support,

2

skills and capabilities of systems staff and

3

involvement of various stakeholder public sector agencies (Devadoss et al., 2003).

Findings from both these studies complement the factors identified in a framework for government portal (website) design that was based on past studies of electronic government initiatives, as well as on research on portal adoption and use in the private sector (Detlor and Finn, 2002). That framework postulates key contextual factors that can impact and influence government website development and use. Of these, nine have relevance to this discussion. The first of these nine factors concerns the need to facilitate and foster cooperation across the various departments or partners that have a stake in the portal’s design. To do this requires that participating departments or partners ‘buy in’ to the portal strategy and work together to deliver a composite and comprehensive view of the information resources and services offered through the portal. The second involves the ability to modify existing work processes as departments and partners work together to deliver information and services online. The third factor deals with the need for a sufficient IT


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workforce to support and streamline the systems development process. The fourth element calls for adequate funding to support systems development, both in terms of base funding to establish a proper IT infrastructure and long-term funding for its continued support. The fifth concerns the need to include citizen representatives in the design process. Governments that do not understand citizen needs could jeopardise uptake of their electronic initiatives. The sixth characteristic addresses the establishment of policies and strategies to guide portal development and identify the website’s mandate and goals. The seventh calls for strong leadership to advocate and carry out the website’s strategic direction. The eighth centres on the need to market government portals to citizens in order to foster interest in the technology and makes users aware of the functionality offered in such systems. The last reflects the need for a sound governance structure to facilitate modifications to website design and direction among various stakeholder groups. Democratic portal steering committees can help promote government website designs that meet the requirements of various departments or partners, and can balance stakeholder tensions. Taking these past findings into account, Figure 1 illustrates the internal factors that influence the adoption and use of government websites. Figure 1

Internal factors affecting government website adoption and use (see online version for colours)

Partner cooperation Ability to change internal work processes IT workforce Funding

Government Website Adoption and Use

Citizen participation in design Portal strategies and policies Leadership Marketing Governance

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Methodology

Figure 1 served as a conceptual framework to investigate the internal factors that shape the adoption and use of a particular type of government website: community municipal portals. A community municipal portal is a public website targeted to the delivery of information, services, and resources pertaining to a particular municipality or local

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government region. These sites are unique in that local governments partner with various community organisations to deliver a community-oriented portal that is of high relevance and importance to citizens and groups residing in the local area (e.g. municipality, region), as well as to outside persons or businesses (e.g. tourists, immigrants, businesses wishing to expand) who have interest in the community (Detlor et al., 2008).

3.1 Recruitment and description of community municipal portals Permission was obtained to study six community municipal portals in the province of Ontario, Canada, specifically those that implemented portals via the Ontario provincial government’s ‘Connect Ontario: Partnering for Smart Communities’ (COPSC) programme. All 11 community municipal portals that received COPSC funding were invited to participate and six of these agreed to partner in this study. Overall, the six participating community municipal portals comprised a varied and sufficient set of portals worthy of investigation. As such, these sites served as an excellent sample to examine the contextual factors that influence end-user adoption and use of community municipal portals. In terms of similarities, all six sites promote improved information access and sharing within their communities, as well as the delivery of electronic government services at the municipal or regional level. In fact, the six sites shared many common features in terms of the information, services and applications they provided (e.g. municipal information, health services and GIS mapping applications). Despite these similarities, several differences were observed. For example, some of the sites were either more municipal-oriented or more communityoriented, while others offered a balanced municipal/community orientation. Different technology platforms, governance structures, partner compositions and portal IT workforce arrangements existed.

3.2 Data collection A detailed questionnaire was developed and distributed to internal government and community workers who were involved in the administration and support of each of the six community municipal portals. Participants were asked to provide background on their portals in terms of their purpose, history, functionality, level of support, governance, general usage, etc. The study’s conceptual framework was used to formulate an initial set of draft questions. Then, a workshop with administrators from each of the participating portals was organised to elicit feedback on this draft version of the questionnaire instrument. Workshop participants not only helped to improve the language and explicability of the final version of the questionnaire instrument, but also suggested additional items that would be useful to capture. One key output of the workshop was that participating community municipal portal partners identified the need to declare their own major ‘perspectives’ for each of their portals. Typically, a perspective was a major stakeholder involved in the design and governance of the portal. Some community municipal portal partners declared only one perspective (e.g. county), while others declared several (e.g. city government, community businesses, information technology).


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Questionnaires were composed of 7-point Likert-scaled questions (ranging from ‘strongly disagree’ to ‘strongly agree’), as well as open-ended questions to capture the context surrounding participant responses to the Likert-scaled questions. The questionnaire polled participant perceptions on cooperation among portal partners, the ability of the portal to re-engineer business processes, the extent and competency of the portal’s IT workforce, the adequacy of portal funding, the involvement of end-users in design, the effect of portal strategies and policies, the competency and importance of portal leadership, the extent of portal marketing, and the operation and effectiveness of portal governance structures. Community municipal portal partners also assisted with questionnaire distribution by identifying contact persons for each particular perspective. The research team then emailed prospective respondents an information sheet and the actual questionnaire. If the initial contact declined to participate, suggestions for alternative respondents were solicited. This procedure was followed until at least one questionnaire per perspective was returned or no more people could be found to complete a questionnaire within the data collection time period. Participants were instructed to return the completed questionnaire by email by a certain deadline date. Informed consent was implied upon receipt of a completed questionnaire. A variety of methods were used to fill out a questionnaire for each portal’s declared perspectives: •

most community municipal portal partners had just one person fill out a questionnaire for a particular perspective;

•

one community municipal portal partner identified a single person who elicited comments from a number of people to arrive at a unified response for a particular perspective;

•

one community municipal portal partner identified a team of people to collectively answer the questionnaire for a particular perspective;

•

one community municipal portal partner had two people fill out separate questionnaires for a particular perspective and returned both questionnaires.

In total, 14 detailed questionnaires were returned from the six participating portals. Every portal returned at least one completed questionnaire.

3.3 Data analysis In terms of data analysis, this study used a predominantly qualitative approach. Some basic descriptive statistics were generated from the Likert-scaled questions. However, the majority of the analysis involved an intensive and rigorous examination of the open-ended responses. A qualitative study is an inquiry process of understanding a social or human problem by building a complex, holistic picture, formed with words, that reports detailed views of informants and the researcher’s impressions and reactions (Myers, 1997; Creswell, 2003). The goal of assessing respondents’ open-ended answers to questions concerning the roll-out and implementation of their community municipal portals was to produce ‘an understanding of the context of the information system, and the process whereby the information system influences and is influenced by the context’ (Walsham, 1993, pp.4–5). As such, this study fell squarely in the qualitative domain.

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To analyse open-ended questionnaire data, grounded theory techniques were employed to elicit recurring themes and patterns via constant comparative analysis and analytic inductive reasoning of the incoming data and the emergent concepts and relationships (Glaser and Strauss, 1967; Strauss and Corbin, 1998). Specifically, open coding was followed by axial coding and selective coding techniques. With these techniques, each form of coding moves the analysis toward a higher, abstract level until the emergent concepts form a well-integrated theory. With open coding, the researcher breaks down, examines, compares, conceptualises and categorises data. As categories emerge, axial coding techniques are employed to establish relationships between categories and sub-categories. In this stage, specific categories elicited during open coding are often recombined. It is during axial coding that more than one category pertinent to the phenomenon being studied is identified. With selective coding, the researcher identifies a core category and begins to compose a descriptive narrative or ‘story’ about the phenomenon of interest. The selection of the core category is a matter of research perspectives; selecting a different category may result in a different theory about the phenomenon. When a core category is selected, the other categories are refined and related to the core category along the ‘story line’ (Strauss and Corbin, 1998). Although Strauss and Corbin warn against the use of a priori concepts in the analysis of data, constructs from the study’s conceptual framework were used to guide the data analysis. This strategy is employed frequently by qualitative researchers, especially those conducting qualitative case studies (Gluckman, 1961; Eisenhardt, 1989; Burawoy et al., 1991). Today, there is general acceptance of this more liberal or constructivist view of grounded theory research where researchers draw upon and elaborate existing knowledge or theoretical ideas to explain empirical phenomena (Charmaz, 2006). Ensuring the accuracy of the phenomenon’s depiction is a necessity in qualitative research (Kirk and Miller, 1986; Lofland and Lofland, 1995). Qualitative researchers have no single stance or consensus on addressing topics such as validity and reliability in their studies (Creswell, 2003), but they have established criteria such as trustworthiness and authenticity as alternatives to more traditional scientific criteria (Lincoln and Guba, 1985; Erlandson et al., 1993). For example, receiving feedback from key informants (also known as member checks) on the study’s findings (Lincoln and Guba, 1985) and finding convergence among different case studies or sources of information (Merriam, 1988; Miles and Huberman, 1994; Creswell, 2003) are excellent methods of ensuring research validity (i.e. the accuracy of the study’s findings and whether they reflect reality). Accordingly, aggregated and individual feedback reports were returned to various questionnaire respondents at all six community municipal portals to verify and check the credibility of the study’s findings. In addition, convergence was assessed through the collection of a comprehensive and balanced data set from six different community municipal portals as well as different perspectives within each of those sites.

4

Findings

Figure 2 shows the rank-ordered mean responses to the Likert-scaled questions, aggregated across all six community municipal portals for all perspectives.

Internal factors affecting the adoption and use of government websites Figure 2

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Results of Likert-scaled questions (see online version for colours)

The need to mark et the portal is well-understood by portal managers.

5.8

The portal governance structure incorporates the views of major partners.

5.8

Policy/strategy documents are tak en seriously with respect to the development and use of the portal.

5.6

The portal IT work force is competent in its support and development of the portal.

5.5

Partners cooperate together well in terms of developing and supporting the portal.

5.3 5.0

The portal governance structure work s well. There is strong leadership advocating the development and use of the portal.

4.6

There is sufficient funding available today to support and develop the portal.

3.9

It is easy to change existing work processes introduced through implementation of a new program or service in the portal.

3.8

The portal is sufficiently advertised.

3.4

There is sufficient funding available to support and develop the portal in the future.

2.9

Adequate budgets exist to mark et the portal.

2.7

End-users (e.g. citizens in the community) have a strong voice in shaping the design of the portal.

2.5

End users have a strong voice in the governance of the portal.

2.3 0.0

1.0

2.0

3.0

4.0

5.0

6.0

7.0

(1 - Strongly Disagree; 7 - Strongly Agree) All six portals

Using a rule of thumb where Likert scores of 5.0 or greater were considered high, those between 3.0 and 5.0 were considered medium, and those less than 3.0 were considered low, certain general patterns were observed in the responses reported in Figure 2. In terms of cooperation among partners, partners cooperated together well in terms of developing and supporting the portal (score 5.3). Several responses in the returned questionnaires spoke to the increased level of cooperation among partners and the fact that by working together, portal development teams were better able to divide and share work. A few commented that portal ‘committee members work together very collegially’ and that ‘cooperation and good will is not the issue at hand’. There were many instances described where one partner had expertise in a particular area that was beneficial to all other partners (e.g. technical programming expertise by one partner benefited the whole group). Two respondents reported that the formation of partnerships was critical in securing provincial funding. One respondent indicated that partner cooperation reduced costs because of a shared infrastructure and utilisation of joint staff resources. Minor partners or stakeholders seemed to benefit the most in that they contribute less to the development, rollout and maintenance of the delivered portal, but gain advantage in having access to a portal infrastructure that lets them provide offerings they otherwise could not manage on their own. Partner cooperation also led to increased hits or visits to partner sites. One respondent indicated that portal stakeholders were now more willing to work together on a regular basis because of their positive experiences during portal development.

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Despite the high rating of cooperation among partners, some tensions existed. Not all partners were equally engaged, causing those who bore more of the work to become frustrated with those who were less active or less supportive. Some partners who originally were part of the portal development team had abandoned the portal, paid scant attention to communiqués concerning portal operations, or were no longer involved in portal governance at all. This led to misunderstandings, and caused delays or negatively impacted decision-making. Disengaged partners affected motivations and morale among those partners still at the table. Other negative perceptions centred around differences between portal partners: 1

differences in goals and visions delayed implementation of certain portal services;

2

differences in viewpoints on information content posted on the portal caused tension between partners and a backlash among some end-users;

3

differences in power among internal portal stakeholders caused an imbalance in the services and features delivered in the portal in favour of the stakeholder holding more influence.

With respect to governance, governance structures were believed to incorporate the views of major partners (score 5.8) and generally functioned well (score 5.0). Many portals had governance structures that operated effectively, met regularly, and incorporated the view of major stakeholders. A few portals had no governance structure in place or had governance structures that have been pared down since the heady days of pre-launch portal development. These pared down governance structures tended to meet less frequently and comprised less representation across various stakeholder groups. Some respondents stressed that portal governance must be flexible and agile in order to function best. With some portals, the governance structure was adjusted several times during the planning and development stages, often to good results. This suggests that different governance formats may be more conducive to various stages of portal development. The data also suggested that a ‘one-size fits all’ governance structure does not necessarily apply; all the portals investigated in this study had variations in governance structures – as such, a structure that works well in one context may not necessarily work well in another. Some respondents reported on structures having complicated lines of communication and hence suffered a ‘ping pong’ effect where directions and decisions were shuffled back and forth between various committees. A few respondents indicated that a portal governance structure must be clearly defined and documented and commented how such documentation can establish ground rules for decision-making and identify accountability in terms of which group or partner is responsible for which tasks or duties. One respondent indicated frustration with committee meeting absenteeism that resulted in weaker decision-making or even a loss of quorum when not all stakeholders were present. The data suggested that partners who were less engaged or contributed less to the development and financial support of the portal tended to have weaker voices in the site’s governance and less influence in decision-making. Some respondents indicated that this was not necessarily a bad thing, but could change the direction and design of the portal in ways that benefit more powerful portal partners. For the most part, respondents reported that end-users had little involvement in the governance structure. A few portal governing bodies included end-users on governance committees, but the majority did not. Some questionnaire respondents raised awareness of the need to provide end-users with ‘more of a voice in governance’.


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In terms of leadership, respondents expressed moderate agreement with the statement concerning the presence of strong leadership (score 4.6). Some comments were quite positive concerning portal leadership, while others were more negative. However, all respondents saw the value in having strong portal leadership. Without strong leadership, there was consensus among the questionnaire respondents that it would become more difficult to make decisions and more challenging to keep the portal on a clear directional path. Some thought strong leadership would facilitate buy-in among portal partners and aid in decision-making. Many, however, saw leadership being constrained by a lack of time and resources, and waning at the senior management level. It was generally felt that portals that were developed and run by several partners faced greater leadership challenges than those portals with fewer or no partners. Several respondents commented that without strong leadership, the portal lost importance and suffered from a lack of clear direction. A key role for leadership concerned strategic direction. A major criticism among several respondents was that community municipal portals suffered from a lack of clear strategic direction from portal partners. Without a well-defined strategic direction, those managing the portal on a day-to-day basis often thought they were left ‘in the lurch’. Further, an unclear strategic direction was generally seen by respondents as something that increased the likelihood of the site failing to serve the needs of both end-users and portal partners. Several respondents called for a formal portal strategy or vision document to help guide portal development. With respect to the development and use of the portal, responses to questions that polled this characteristic reflected high agreement with the Likert statement. For the most part, the portal IT workforce was perceived to be competent in its support and development of the portal (score 5.5). However, not all portals investigated in this study had a good experience with the vendor who was responsible for the development of the portal; some were quite frustrated working with their vendors. A few respondents described the requirements of a competent portal IT workforce. Crucial factors in this assessment appeared to be: •

access to needed technical skills;

•

access to softer business skills (e.g. determining end-user needs, usability testing);

•

fair distribution of work among portal IT staff and managers;

•

close working relationships between portal IT staff and major portal stakeholders;

•

ease with which to make changes to the portal software/ease with which to learn the portal software;

•

control over changes requests and response times;

•

thorough testing prior to launch or release; and,

•

an effective change management process for system modifications and enhancements.

Importantly, portal policy/strategy documents were taken seriously with respect to the development and use of the portal (score 5.6). Most respondents felt such documents (e.g. accessibility, acceptable use, vision, terms of use, privacy, disaster recovery documents) were needed for liability (legal), strategic (directional) and governance

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reasons, even though a few respondents admitted that most end-users probably do not read this information. One respondent pointed out the need to review these documents on a regular basis ‘in order to ensure they do not stifle growth’. Overall, most respondents felt improvements could be seen in terms of how easily the portal could change existing work processes introduced through implementation of a new programme or service in the portal (score 3.8). A few respondents indicated they were able to successfully introduce several new services via the portal and that it was easy to implement a new service due to the flexibility offered by the portal solution, but others did not share this experience. One respondent described examples of good experiences where partners were able to spend the time and resources to change existing work processes introduced through implementation of a new programme or service in the portal. It appears that a front-line approach was more effective in achieving change than any sole top-down directive. In terms of portal funding, respondents indicated that there was a moderate level of current funding for portal support and development (score 3.9) but a low level of future funding (score 2.9). Only one portal in this study expressed high confidence in securing sustainable funding in the future, largely as a result of having the portal identified as a ‘core service’ and as a line item in the local government’s budget. The rest expressed grave concern on the viability of future funding. One respondent commented that future funding would likely require sound business cases that document the benefits, costs and risks. A few respondents stated that more realistic funding approaches were required. However, one respondent remarked that revenue-generation approaches do not work and suggested cut-backs to functionally might be required, since the costs of maintaining a ‘Cadillac’ portal were significant. Of related interest, several respondents commented on the considerable time and effort spent on fulfilling reporting requirements to governmentfunding agencies, and the need to include functionality in the portal that was of little perceived value but necessary as a condition of funding. With respect to marketing, it appears that the need for marketing was well-understood (score 5.8). However, the ability to market sites suffered from only moderate levels of advertising (score 3.4) and insufficient budgets (score 2.7). Respondents indicated that initial marketing efforts generally were good during the launch period, but sustainable marketing budgets were more difficult if not impossible to secure. Only one portal investigated in this study expressed a high score for the marketing items on the questionnaire. As with others, sufficient dollars from grant funding were available in the early days of portal rollout. The difference, however, was the securing of a marketing budget and regular promotional activities carried out by portal staff. A variety of marketing methods were used to promote portal uptake. These included mini-promotions for specific events or specific sections of the portal that include newspaper advertising, internal and external email, internal notices, web links and billboards. Many respondents indicated that they encouraged portal partners to market the portal within their own organisations and to market their own portions of the portal. Often external organisations and/or partners were asked to provide links to the portal from their portals. Unfortunately, one respondent indicated that all marketing promotion of a major portal partner directed residents to the partner’s individual site as opposed to the community municipal portal. There appeared to be a strong association between marketing and adoption and use of the portal by citizens.


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In terms of end-user involvement, the current situation is far from optimal. Respondents indicated that end-users (e.g. citizens in the community) did not have a strong voice in shaping either the design of the portal (score 2.5) or its governance (score 2.3). Four of the six portals involved in this study incorporated some form of proactive end-user feedback prior to portal launch. Examples include the formation of a community committee in the development stages, task-based testing, card-sorting exercises and town hall meetings. However, improvements in how this feedback was gathered and utilised were suggested by some respondents in terms of gathering such feedback just two or three weeks before portal launch, and not testing all portal functionality with users. Of the two portals that chose not to elicit end-user feedback prior to launch, it appeared that time constraints were the major deterrent. Several portals continue to solicit and invite feedback from end-users and use this input to inform future design decisions and changes to the portal. Typically, this is handled with automated email forms or end-users calling the switchboard. This type of reactive needs assessment is important as it gives portal administrators insight into users’ site experiences. With respect to end-user and internal stakeholder response, comments received from questionnaire respondents indicate that, for the most part, end-users and internal workers generally were satisfied with the delivered portals, but there was consensus that improvements could be made. Not all features planned in the design of the portals were actually delivered, and there was some disappointment with the ‘look and feel’ of certain delivered functionality. End-user and internal response were described as mixed. In general, respondents indicated that even though the portals provide a convenient and more accessible means to access information and services than traditional methods, not everyone was satisfied. For example, several end-users expressed satisfaction with the portal, but there were many in the community who did not like and did not use these portals or expressed disappointment with the lack of functionality. A vocal minority of internal stakeholders believed that the portal end product did not address their own internal needs or caused more work for everyone involved.

5

Discussion and implications

The questionnaire findings across all six participating community municipal portals paint a detailed picture of the complexities surrounding the provision, rollout, and use of government websites. Overall: •

High scores were received on the levels of cooperation found between partners and the functioning of governance structures. Tension between partners, however, was shown to mitigate the benefits of partner cooperation, while improvements in governance structures and processes that could promote quicker and more effective decision-making were noted.

•

Leadership was moderately scored with many calling for stronger leadership that advocates a clear, strategic vision.

•

Development and use of the portal was scored moderate to high; it seems that improvements could be made with respect to portal systems development and support.

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•

Current funding levels were moderately scored; low scores were received with respect to future funding.

•

The need for marketing was highly scored, but current levels of marketing initiatives were moderately scored, and marketing budgets to launch such campaigns were rated as being low.

5.1 Rationale From these findings, one central category emerges from the grounded theory analysis of the data: the importance of a clear strategic direction for the government website being developed and the infrastructure and means by which to put that strategic direction into effective action. It appears that strategic direction and action is pivotal to designing and implementing a government website that is of value to local governments, partners and their constituents. It is argued that government websites that are better valued by internal and external stakeholders will be ones that are better and more heavily utilised. The other categories identified in this study’s analysis tie into this central theme. First, a strong and clear strategic direction can solidify and hone the formation of cooperative partnerships. Significant benefits are gained through the formation of partnerships to deliver and support government websites. For example, strong partnerships lead to: increased cooperation; enriched website functionality and content; increased visibility/visits across partner sites; the awarding of grant funding; the distribution of workloads; the sharing of expertise; and the distribution of costs and expenses. Second, sound governance structures facilitate the implementation of a government website’s strategic plan. The data indicate that a sound governance structure is one that: 1

provides fair representation across stakeholders (including users),

2

has clear policies or documentation that outlines and describes partner responsibilities and accountabilities, and

3

is agile and flexible enough to be effective and offer quick decision-making response times. Findings suggest that sound governance structures lead to more effective decision-making concerning the design and roll-out of government websites.

Third, strong leadership is the key to forming and championing a strategic vision for a government website, enhancing stakeholder buy-in, and ensuring that the website’s design reflects the strategic vision. According to the data, strong website leadership establishes, voices, and facilitates a clear, overarching strategic direction for the website. Leadership is pivotal in aligning the design of the government website with its mandate, and securing continued support and interest in its development and use. Fourth, a strategic vision that understands the need for good government website design can help to ensure that an effective systems development process is in place. Whether websites are developed in-house or through a third-party vendor, findings suggest that the best scenario is a systems development environment that: gives control to website managers over which functions are delivered, how they are delivered, and when they are delivered; ensures a skilled and sufficiently numbered IT workforce; properly incorporates both end-user and partner needs in the design of the website; provides thorough testing; and supports an effective change management process for website modifications and enhancements.


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Fifth, a strategic vision that recognises and incorporates sustainable funding in the development and rollout of a government website can strengthen the continued viability of the website. The data indicate that consistent and sufficient funding are critical to the success and viability of all six websites examined in this study. The findings suggest that funding mechanisms should reduce dependency on grants, increase reliance on selfsustaining methods and/or dependable, long-term sources, and ideally be secured prior to website development and launch. Finally, a strategic vision that encompasses the need for sound marketing can enhance the likelihood that end-users are made aware of the government website and its potential for use. Marketing strategies and budgets are pivotal in launching campaigns that raise end-user awareness of the website. Evidence from the returned questionnaires suggests that increased traffic and usage is directly correlated with marketing initiatives. The findings suggest that website managers should undertake regular marketing initiatives and that marketing efforts may be even more important for those sites that face stiff competition from other websites that offer community-based information.

5.2 Implications for practice Based on this ‘story-line’, several recommendations can be made to practitioners and managers who are interested in developing and implementing usable and functional government websites (see Table 1). Table 1

Recommendations for government website practitioners and managers

Recommendation #1:

Create a strong, clear and purposeful strategy for the website.

Recommendation #2:

Provide a sound website governance structure that gives fair representation across stakeholders (including users), has clear policies or documentation that outlines and describes partner responsibilities and accountabilities, and is agile and flexible enough to be effective and offer quick decision-making response times.

Recommendation #3:

Secure strong website leadership that establishes, voices, and facilitates a clear, overarching strategic direction for the website.

Recommendation #4:

Ensure website managers have control over what functions are delivered, how they are delivered and when they are delivered.

Recommendation #5:

Ensure that a skilled and sufficiently numbered IT workforce exists.

Recommendation #6:

Incorporate the needs of both end-users (citizen) and partners (local government; community organisations) in the design of the website.

Recommendation #7:

Ensure that an effective change management process exists for website modifications and enhancements.

Recommendation #8:

Secure sustainable and sufficient funding, ideally prior to website development and launch.

Recommendation #9:

Run regular marketing campaigns, especially for those government websites that face competition from other community sites.

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5.3 Implications for theory These findings and recommendations complement prior studies in that the categories that emerged from this study’s analysis verify the findings used to shape the conceptual framework. More importantly, however, this study extends research in this area with three key contributions. First, this investigation has identified a central core theme of the importance of strategic direction and its implementation for government website success. Second, salient categories that affect government website design and rollout are pinpointed. Finally, whereas previous investigations simply list critical factors without describing their interplay, this study demonstrates how salient categories pertain to the central core theme. Note that our results verify and extend the papers described in our literature review. The same key categories of cooperative partnerships, strong leadership, effective systems development, sustainable funding and sound marketing were elicited. However, unlike past studies, our results showcase the importance of strategy in shaping the effects of these categories on government website adoption and use.

5.4 Limitations In terms of limitations, it is recognised that this investigation is constrained to government websites that were constructed and rolled out in a Canadian provincial context. Consequently, findings may not be generalisable to an international audience. However, steps were taken to mitigate the effects of this constraint. Several robust and comprehensive government websites with distinguishing characteristics but also certain common features were investigated in this study. Further, member checks of the study’s findings helped confirm the trustworthiness and authenticity of the interpreted data.

6

Conclusion

This paper described an in-depth investigation of six community municipal portals in the province of Ontario, Canada as a means of probing the internal factors that promote or impede government website adoption and use. A conceptual framework based on prior empirical work established the boundaries of investigation. Results showcased the pivotal role of strategic direction in website design, implementation and roll-out. Several key factors or categories and their relationship with this central theme were described. These findings yielded several recommendations for practitioners and managers wishing to design and implement their own government websites. These findings also furthered theoretical understanding of the internal factors affecting the adoption and use of government websites. Because of the considerable difficulties posed by government websites development, governments would be well advised to familiarise themselves with the internal factors that affect the design and usage of such sites. By paying attention to strategic vision, leadership, managerial control, the IT workforce, user and partner needs, change management processes, funding and effective marketing, governments will be well positioned to enhance the adoption and use of their government websites.


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Future studies wishing to explore further the effects of internal contextual factors on government website adoption and use may wish to concentrate on the role strategy plays, as well as the individual effects of each of the individual salient factors identified in this study. Future studies may also wish to investigate other types of government website initiatives, beyond that of community municipal portals and compare results. Further, there is a need to investigate differences in the effects of internal contextual factors on government website adoption and use across different countries, regions and cultures.

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