Chapter 1 - Brunel University

Chapter 2: Literature Review
convenient ways for citizens and businesses to communicate with government in the
acquisition of services (Kamal, 2008; Ebrahim et al., 2003; Melitski, 2003).
Some countries have specified different names for e-government, e.g. in Hong
Kong, Australia and India, it is termed ‗electronic service delivery‘, ‗government
online‘, and ‗electronic government‘ respectively. Despite these numerous
synonyms of the e-government terminology, it refers to the same connotation - that
is seamless accessibility of government information and services through the web
(Bose, 2004). The aforementioned theorised conceptions illustrate the provision of
e-government service delivery, mainly focusing on citizens. Conversely, literature
also highlights similar provision of services to customers through the use of e -
commerce technological solutions (Al-Shehry et al., 2006). Moreover, Carter and
Belanger (2004b) and Al-Shehry et al., (2006) argue that both e-government and e-
commerce are based on Internet technology that is designed to facilitate the
exchange of goods, services, and information between several stakeholders.
Tassabehji and Elliman, (2006) and Al-Shehry et al., (2006), further emphasize that
e-government systems share similar characteristics with the field of e-commerce and
e-business in terms of the use and implementation of the internet; thus generating
new services, products and channels to be available to end-users. Eyob, (2004) also
observes that e-government has become another wave of ICT applications in the
public sector, as e-business and e-commerce disciplines mature in the private sector.
2.3 A Taxonomy of E-government Definitions
E-government has been defined and conceptualised in different ways in normative
literature. Some definitions view e-government from a narrow perspective of
exploiting the accessibility of ICT and the Internet to improve the efficiency of
government systems. Others view it from a broader perspective - that of a system of
reform and government process reengineering. Nevertheless, despite several
conceptions, the definition of e-government remains vague and a concept of some
debate among the various e-government scholars. Al-Sebie and Irani, (2005) support
this argument and state that there is no specific definition for the e -government
concept among practitioners and public administration. Various researchers have
offered different definitions to explain the concept of e-government (e.g. the
European Union, 2004; Heeks, 2003; Seifert and Petersen, 2002; Jain, 2002). These
definitions differ according to varying e-government foci and are usually centred on
technology, business, citizen, government, process, or a functional perspective
(Weerakkody and Dhillon, 2008; Irani et al., 2006; Seifert and Petersen, 2002). Irani
Shafi Al-Shafi 17