Towards a multidimensional model for assessing e-government service gaps

Abstract

Background: Since the emergence of e-government in developing countries, several different measurement metrics in the form of models and frameworks have been utilised to evaluate e-government projects. Whilst e-government assessment topologies have developed over time, no measurement metrics exist to assess e-government service gaps according to the best knowledge of the researchers. Consequently, failure to assess e-government service gaps makes it difficult to take well-founded improvement actions, as these gaps are not obvious to the designers and developers of e-government systems.

Objective: The objective of this study was to explore dimensions or constructs that could contribute to the development of a multidimensional model for assessing e-government service gaps.

Methodology: An integrative literature review was conducted in Ebscohost, Wiley Online Library, Springer Link, Science Direct, Taylor and Francis journals, Sage Research Methods, JSTOR, Google Scholar, Emerald and the Electronic Journal of Information System in Developing Countries (EJISDC) using relevant search strings. The extracted articles were subjected to construct analysis in which constant-comparative analysis, thematic analysis and evaluation functions were used to cluster dimensions extracted from evaluation metrics according to their themes or constructs.

Results: Themes and constructs extracted from existing evaluation metrics resulted in the development of a multidimensional model that could be used for assessing e-government service gaps. Accordingly, the model consists of the following constructs: system functionality; service delivery; and service gaps.

Conclusion: The findings imply that the model can be used as a prescriptive tool during the design phase (pre-implementation phase) or in scaling up e-government projects and as an evaluation tool in the post-implementation phase.