E-Government Implementation Process in Rwanda: Exploring Changes in a Sociotechnical Perspective

Authors

  • Pierre Bakunzibake College of Science and Technology, School of ICT, University of Rwanda, Kigali, Rwanda
  • Gunnar O. Klein Centre for Empirical Research on Information Systems, Örebro University School of Business, Örebro, Sweden
  • Sirajul M. Islam Centre for Empirical Research on Information Systems, Örebro University School of Business, Örebro, Sweden

Keywords:

e-Government implementation, enterprise content management, ‘one-stop’ e-government, Rwanda, socio-technical theory

Abstract

Background: Failures in e-government projects to deliver expected results are frequent in the context of developing countries. These are partly attributed to the lack of balanced attention to both technical and social aspects in the implementation. However, there has been limited research on these aspects in the least Developed Countries. Objectives: Taking a socio-technical perspective, this study aims at exploring the extent of changes and effects in the implementation of e-government service-oriented initiatives in Rwanda, one of the Least Developed Countries. Methods/Approach: An empirical investigation was conducted, via interviews at 8 agencies during the period from January 2017 to May 2018. This involved two case projects, an Enterprise Content Management System and a One-Stop e-government system. Furthermore, government documents and online material were analyzed. Results: A number of changes in technology, processes and people aspects were faced in both projects. However, those changes are coupled with secondary effects; there is a need for a better fit between technical systems and social systems of organizations implementing e-government; a larger gap was identified in the first case project. Conclusions: Addressing the issues as a socio-technical system would contribute to improved work systems of agencies and better services.

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

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Published

2019-06-30

Issue

Section

Information Systems Research Articles