Abstract:
Many developing countries’ governments have invested heavily in e-service projects.
However, there is a lack of clear case material research, which describes the
potentialities experienced by governmental organisations. This research examines egovernment
service projects and provides insights and learning into how to
successfully develop and implement these projects within a developing country,
specifically Egypt. The aim of this research is to develop a robust framework to support
an efficient e-government system focusing on the case of Egypt. This is achieved by
investigating selected completed and on-going successful initiatives and focusing on
the barriers to, and the enablers of, these initiatives. As a result, the nature of
successful e-governmental services initiatives is determined, and solutions to the
possible emerging barriers and challenges are developed. Many lessons are learned to
be taken into consideration in repeating the successful experience of other new eservice
projects in the Egyptian government. A combination of research methodology
approaches has been employed in this research. Firstly, an extensive review of
literature took place to summarise and synthesise the arguments of the main factors
contributing to the development of e-service research. Secondly, the qualitative
approach and the case study are selected as an appropriate methodology for this
research, using the semi-structured interview technique to gather data from top level
officials who are involved in the Egyptian e-government program. Based on evidence,
the cultural barriers group is the main group facing Egyptian e-government progress.
On the other hand, the political will and enforcing decisions are the ultimate driving
forces for the successful implementation of e-service projects in particular and the egovernment
program in Egypt in general. Based on the findings, a framework is
developed for explaining the main barriers and enablers of government e-service
projects development, and providing solutions for the identified barriers, especially in a
developing country environment like Egypt. Also, a process, of e-service projects
implementation is proposed. A new enabler (decision enforcement) is found in the
Egyptian government context and added to the list of enablers. From a practical point
of view, this research provides realistic implications for the decision makers and
officials within the Egyptian government involved in the process of planning, developing
and implementing e-service projects.
