Strategy, Competition and Investment: Explaining the Global Divide in E-Government Implementation with Policy Variables

Abstract

The rapid development of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) has created an environment for citizens to have greater access to their government and to make citizen-to-government contact more inclusive. Previous research does not examine the impact of national public policy initiatives that expand and improve e-government services. This study examines the global divide in e-government implementation by analysing the impact of national policies on the United Nations’ Web Measure Index in 174 countries. A multiple regression analysis shows that e-governance is more extensive in countries that have a regulatory authority for telecommunications, encourage competition in their telecommunication industries and invest more financially in the development of ICTs.

Keywords: e-governance, e-government, financial investment, global information society, national strategy and policy, political freedom, telecommunications competition, telecommunications regulation, web measure index