Service innovation activities in e-government initiatives: the Taiwan experience

Abstract

Information and communication technologies (ICT), particularly the internet, can be leveraged to enhance the offerings of e-government initiatives beyond simply providing access to information and services. The adoption of ICT could foster changes in the service concept, delivery system, and client interface of e-government initiatives. There has been relatively little in-depth research about how the internet enables service innovation in the e-government context. The purpose of this study is to explore the innovation activities of e-government initiatives with respect to how two archetypical website structures provide new benefits for citizens/businesses, in the form of either integrated information platforms or full online transactions. In this qualitative study, five projects (2002-2009) from e-government initiatives in Taiwan were analysed. We propose a framework to address the adoption of technologies for innovation activities, particularly MMK-style/PSP-style website structure. The findings show that the application of the framework, regarding the use of the internet, by a government currently employing e-government services is suitable.