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Transformational change in the local state? Enacting e-government in English local authorities

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 February 2015

Ian McLoughlin  and
James Cornford
Ian McLoughlin
Affiliation:
Business School/Centre for Social and Business Informatics, University of Newcastle, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK
James Cornford
Affiliation:
Business School/Centre for Social and Business Informatics, University of Newcastle, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK
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Abstract

E-government represents a major change management challenge to public agencies. This paper explores the experience of English local government authorities. The proposition that ‘process’, rather than more conventional ‘event’, approaches to change management are more likely to result in change the goals of e-government being met, is explored. The article concludes by suggesting that conventional models of change management theory and practice fundamentally misunderstand the nature of technology-driven organisational change represented by e-government. A processualperspective, on the other hand, provides a more effective framework for explaining and understanding organisational and socio-technical outcomes and the reasons for variations in different contexts. Moreover, attempts to transform the state through the technologies of e-government present a significant opportunity for the processual perspective to inform practice.

Keywords

transformational changee-governmentchange management
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Management & Organization , Volume 12 , Issue 3 , November 2006 , pp. 195 - 208
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press and Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management 2006

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