Information systems in the public sector: The e-Government enactment framework

Despite the burgeoning number of studies of public sector information systems, very few scholars have focussed on the relationship between e-Government policies and information systems choice and design. Drawing on Fountain’s (2001) technology enactment framework, this paper endeavours to conduct an in-depth investigation of the intricacies characterising the choice and design of new technologies in the context of e-Government reforms. By claiming that technologies are carriers of e-Government reform aims, this study investigates the logics embedded in the design of new technology and extant political interests and values inscribed in e-Government policies. The e-Government enactment framework is proposed as a theoretical and analytical approach to understand and study the complexity of these relationships which shape e-Government policies. 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.