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governments can innovate or be disconnected from the general
ideas and priorities coming from this group of regional key
drivers.
In the LatAm region, different mechanisms have been oriented to
enhance the supply-side of e-Government. This process has
resulted in policy-makers focused on developing sophisticated
Internet portals and e-services, more than the provision of training
and digital literacy among the citizens. This conclusion is derived
from the importance of supply-side elements within national e-
Government policies, as well as from the analysis of data
provided in previous sections. Besides, it is worth noting the most
important areas of e-Government enhanced, i.e. e-procurement
portals, tax and social security agencies on-line, and more recently
electronic mechanisms for identification, interoperability
schemes, or social media tools for public sector organizations [4].
All of them are inextricably linked with these common beliefs,
mostly a consequence of a techno-centric, e-commerce oriented,
and new public management style of e-Government development.
This study is rooted on institutional theory and policy transfer
literature. Regarding to the previous analysis, this study shows
that international, intergovernmental, and transnational
organizations do not exert adaptive pressure in national states
(‘hard’ mechanisms); and that therefore framing or ‘soft’
mechanisms of policy transfer have characterized e-Government
[5]. In other words, they have promoted e-Government in the
nations of the region through non-coercive processes based on the
will of the participants (i.e. eLAC 2015 goals, CLAD conferences,
REDGEALC groups, etc.) to agree, by way of collective
deliberation, on procedural norms, modes of regulation and
common political objectives and, at the same time, to preserve the
diversity of national and even local experiences.
This type of policy transfer process has created convergence
around paradigms, or a policy frame. This occurs when national
jurisdictions accept new practices, actions and routines inspired
by the international, intergovernmental, and transnational
organizations involved, within an incremental adjustment
process of current domestic institutions. In other words, the
cognitive dimension within this type of intergovernmental
coordination process operates through knowledge-sharing [7,8],
mutual learning or exchange of best practices. In the case of e-
Government policy, the main purpose of the instruments
described throughout the previous section has been to encourage
a comparison of situations across all countries, seeking to share
some mutual representations, opening the road to common
perceptions of political priorities and goals, and enlarging the
variety of candidate alternatives, as a result of the exchange of
good practice (i.e. REDGEALC).
On the other hand, the organizations involved in the policy
transfer process also delivered legitimacy and, less commonly,
solutions to national authorities responsible for e-Government
policies. By the mid of the previous decade, the majority of
LatAm governments perceived this area as a new policy field,
and recognized the extreme importance of the Internet, web sites
and interaction with citizens using digital means. In this context,
eLAC strategy, the CLAD policy formulations, or OAS
initiatives emerged as a source of legitimacy for national
78
governments, as a consequence of the uncertainty about the
future of e-Government. In some cases, they provided solutions
for emergent challenges, altering the cognitive perceptions of
problems in national policy arenas. The logic behind this is
based on the conclusion that national administrations that do so
increase their legitimacy, and their acceptance in society,
independently of the immediate efficacy of practices and
procedures.
Further research will be required to conclude that a process of
policy transfer has operated successfully during the following
years promoting e-Government implementation in LatAm
countries. The next steps of this study will be oriented (a) to
deepen the extent of this process of policy transfer within the
different countries of the region; (b) to understand the
motivations behind the different levels of acceptance of this
process of policy transferability; and (c) to identify the nations
more prone to develop successfully their own e-Government
agendas within the region. This paper aims at providing the
basis for the future consolidation of this ambitious research
agenda.
5. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This study has been funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy
and Competitiveness (project CSO2009-09169).
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