Chapter 1 Introduction

Table of Contents
1.1

Introduction ....................................................................................................................................... 2

1.2

Background of the Problem .............................................................................................................. 2

1.3

Statement of the Problem .................................................................................................................. 6

1.4

Purpose of the Study ......................................................................................................................... 6

1.4.1 Research approach and design ............................................................................................................. 6

1.4.2 Sampling and population ..................................................................................................................... 6
1.4.3 Data collection, research instrument and data analysis........................................................................ 7
1.5

Significance of the Study .................................................................................................................. 7

1.6

Primary Research Questions ............................................................................................................. 7

1.7

Research Design................................................................................................................................ 8

1.7.1 The Participants ................................................................................................................................... 8

1.7.2 The instrumentation used to collect data.............................................................................................. 8
1.7.3 The procedure for conducting interviews ............................................................................................ 9
1.8

Theoretical Framework ..................................................................................................................... 9

1.9

Assumptions, Limitations, and Scope ............................................................................................. 10

1.10

Summary ......................................................................................................................................... 10

1.1 Introduction
E-Government is the ability of citizens, business to be able to transact with their respective
governments online using information communications technology. This ability allows all the
affected parties to be able to communicate their needs in a secure environment. Literature shows
that South Africa dropped significantly on the index of e-Government.

In particular, the

networking potential offered by the Internet and related technologies has the potential to
transform the structures and operations of government. The South African government has
approved the implementation of Government Wide Enterprise Architecture Framework (GWEA)
as a minimum standard from which departments and agencies can start building their formal
plans for information and communication technology (ICT). This study will evaluate eGovernment services factors that affect its implementation as provided by SITA (PTY) Ltd and
make recommendations of how it can be improved.
This chapter will cover the background to the problem that has been identified and tie well with
the statement of the problem. The purpose of the study will cover the research methodology and
hence the next section will cover the body of knowledge through the significance of the study
just to show what is lacking in literature. The following section will cover the data collection
methods as applied in primary research questions and the design of the research will follow in
summary. The next section will cover the theoretical framework which would be supported by
the assumptions, limitations, and scope of the research and lastly a section on definition of terms
and the summary of the whole chapter.

1.2 Background of the Problem

E-Government as a multi-faceted notion that is defined as a continuous process of using ICT to
serve citizens and improve their interactions with the state (Fitsilis, Anthopoulos & Gerogiannis,
2009:1) has gained momentum in the developed world or nations. Palvia and Sharma,(2007:2)
argue that e-Government is utilising the Internet and the world-wide-web for delivering
government information and services to citizens. Fangs (2002:1) definition is correct in that the
use of ICTs in interacting with the citizens is more convenient and improves the quality of
service that is being offered by the government. The South African Department of Public Service

and Administration (2001:4) sees e-Government as an opportunity for citizens and business to
interact (even to conduct business) with government 7 days a week, 24 hours a day, and to do so
using different means of communication.
It has been noted that in developing countries including South Africa, many projects of e
Government implementation have failed while others have added very little value to the
everyday lives of the citizenry. Broad reasons for the partial success or failure are related to
people, policy, process, infrastructure etc. This has happened because while technology can be
borrowed, every country has to study its own social conditions and needs and every organization
has to be aware of its own culture (Bhatt & Aggarwal, 2011:3). Nickerson (2000:56) is of the
view that information systems are not only components to being only of technical nature limited
to computers and code but also sees that the people, the processes, and the information are also
parts of an information system. This definition then brings two clearly distinguishable issues that
of society as a system and that of IT as the other. As pointed out by Magalhaes (1999:8) that the
world of business and organisations is changing and implementation of information systems is at
the forefront of these developments. Hence Chen (2003:9) believes that the application of
Information Technology in the production and delivery of public services has become
increasingly important to enable governments to interact with their citizens and business in an
ever transparent manner.
The successful implementation of any project or programme, for example e-Government, within
an organisation requires effective leadership (Spector, 2007:25). Organisations for their survival
need to be innovative and leaders who are leading them are also seen to be as innovative in
dealing with issues of information systems. These leaders must develop plans, explain to their
constituencies what action they going to take (Weiner, et al (2008: 293) when projects fail. In
turn effective leaders must appoint and support employees who will be responsible to lead the
change management process of e-Government (Fixsen, et al, (2005:5, Burke & Morrissey
2012:4). Strategic leadership is defined as the leaders ability to anticipate, envision, and
maintain flexibility and to empower others to create strategic change as necessary (Hitt, Ireland,
& Hoskisson 2007: 375).

Organisations worldwide have rules and regulation that are intricately woven in to policies and
procedures that govern them. Governance can be described as an organizations rules and
procedures that the organisation uses to fulfil its goals (Carrington, DeBuse, & Jin Lee, 2008:3).
Governance draws attention to the complex processes and interactions that constitute patterns of
rule (Bevir, 2010:2). The hierarchical nature of business organisations allows these rules to be
enforced in a governance structure of supervisor and subordinate. This is especially true in the
Public Administrations in that government departments are inter woven in acts of parliament that
regulate the function of government. Cordella and Iannacci (2010:3) believe that, ICT is
perceived, implemented and used in line with policies that grant an aura of stability to the
existent organisational arrangements.
e-Government services implementation pose unique challenges to change management because
they require the co-evolution of the front office service and related back office IS, (Nograek,
(2012:4). It can then be argued that change is in evitable, and that change is accompanied by
anxiety among the staff members in that a new culture of doing things will have to be
assimilated. Similarly a change management process in implementing e-Government services
needs to be adopted as a standard practice that will ensure that employees see the value in new
application of technology. The implementation of e-Government services poses its own risks that
must be documented as part of the critical success factors. Wagner (2001:395) puts it this way
that CSF is those implementation conditions that need to be met in order to ensure the success of
the project or system.
A critical factor of committed leadership at the top of the implementation of the e-Government
services is a prerequisite, where resources like financial as well as human are seen to be putting
the impetus on the delivery of the project there is bound to be success (Fountain, 2001:203-204).
Without top management support for projects the likely hood of failure is imminent hence it
becomes a necessity to have their buy in and involve them. Leadership forms the nucleus of their
organisational structures and as such must prepare them for optimum delivery. The structure of
an organisation has an impact on the implementation of e-Government services, bureaucratic
structures may make decision making a somewhat cumbersome exercise and they may not reach
the intended recipients. Latest organisational design theories argue that instead of having

bureaucratic structures, workplaces should have flat structures such structures enable to
managers to be in close contact with employees (Nah & Lau, 2001:291).
This has a direct consequence on the type of culture that organisations develop over a period of
time. There may be cultural practices that need to be eradicated and replaced with new ones that
will be effective in this implementation effort. Hailu and Rahman (2012: 89) think that
organisations also need to recognize the importance of cultural factors, affecting how employees
work together and with external partners. This is further compounded by the realities of how
organisations communicate their intentions to their employees. As Bhatti, (2005:4) maintains
that it is essential for creating an understanding, an approval of the implementation and sharing
information between the project team and communicating to the whole organisation the results
and the goals in each implementation stage.
Technology plays a very crucial role in ensuring that implementations of information systems are
a success. Technology factors such as IT infrastructure, legacy systems (Finney & Corbett,
2007:338), IT security, IT standards and expertise (Al-Shehry, 2008:178) must be addressed as
they are one of the most important CSFs that determine failure or success of the e-government
services implementation project. These must be addressed in the early stages of choosing the
type of implementation that the organisation will have. IT infrastructure will talk to issues such
as bandwidth, databases, servers, network layout; all of this plays a crucial role in ensuring that
e-Governments services implementation at whatever level becomes a success.
Gottschalk and Solli-Sther (2008:311) believe that the ability of government organisations to
share and integrate information by using common standards will yield the desired outcomes. The
sharing of such information through a standardised way suggests that it could create a security
issue. Al-Rahbi et al. (2012:10) argues that since e-Government services are offered online to the
public, IT security is extremely important. However that security is meaningless without some
form of financial backing and resources. The fiscus on the other hand is faced with the challenge
of ensuring that there is money that must be spent with the competing priorities of government in
general (Office of Government Commerce, 2008:9).

1.3 Statement of the Problem

According to the management report of 2010 SITA (PTY) Ltd, there are many factors affecting
the implementing e-Government services. In terms of governance, there is lack of vision and lack
of consultation. Also, there no is centralised budget for e-Government projects. The other
challenge faced by SITA is that of skills inefficiency to implement these e-government projects
on a larger scale and organisational culture. The latter hamper implementation because skilled
workers do not share information or they do not transfer knowledge. Furthermore, lack of
technology upgrading affects e-Government. In terms of process, employees are working in silos
- there are no collaborations, and e-Government is a non-integrated service delivery processes.
Based on the challenges mentioned, it is imperative to ask: what are the main factors affecting
effective implementation of e-Government services at SITA (PTY) Ltd?

1.4 Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this study will be discussed in chapter 3 in detail however below is the general
summary of the research and how it will be conducted in terms of the approach, sampling and
population together with the research instrument, data collection and analysis.

1.4.1 Research approach and design

A research approach deemed appropriate to assist the researcher to achieve the study objectives
is qualitative. SITA (PTY) Ltd will be used as a case study. Scholars argue that a case study
involves an intensive study of a single unit for the purpose of understanding a phenomenon or
problem better (Gerring, 2004:342; Onwuegbuzie & Leech, 2005:375-387).

1.4.2 Sampling and population

SITA (PTY) Ltd has 2700 employees, 130 of the employees are managers and senior managers.
Twelve (12) managers and senior will be selected utilising a purposive sampling technique (Yu
&Teddle, 2007:77). Selecting this sample will assist the researcher to solicit diverse views about

the challenges faced by SITA (PTY) Ltd in implementing e-Government services and how the
organisation can improve to implement the e-Government services effectively.

1.4.3 Data collection, research instrument and data analysis

Using face-to-face interviews, primary data will be collected from the respondents using a device
such as a cellular phone, such as an iPhone 4 or the Samsung Note II, which have recording
capability. A semi-structured questionnaire would be used to collect data and it will be
developed from the literature focusing on these factors affecting successful implementation of eGovernment services: e-governance, technology, financial, lack of skills and organisational
culture. The rationale of using a semi-structured question is that it gives a researcher an
opportunity to probe and solicit rich data from the respondents or participants (Creswell, 2012:
384). Atlas.Ti will assist the researcher to classify and code worded data. In the mini dossier the
researcher will synchronise data to be in line with the study objectives: e-governance,
technology, financial, lack of skills and organisational culture.

1.5 Significance of the Study

The study will contribute significantly towards the body of literature and knowledge that is
available out there. The study will attempt to answer the question of factors that affect the
implementation of e-Government services from SITA (PTY) Ltd. This new knowledge that will
be gained will primarily be used by management, and the government department (DPSA) that is
tasked with the policy direction of e-Government in South Africa. SITA (PTY) Ltd as an entity
of government will also gain valuable insights as to what it should do going forward.

1.6 Primary Research Questions

The primary research question the following objective:

To identify governance, technology and financial factors that affect effective implementation
of e-Government services at SITA (PTY) Ltd.

1.7 Research Design

The research design is a summary of the methodology and contains a brief outline of three
things: (a) the participants (b) the instrumentation used to collect data, and (c) the procedure that
will be followed.
1.7.1 The Participants

The participants will be selected because of their:

Familiarity and expert knowledge in IT and e-Government initiatives;

Experience in previous government solutions implementation; and

Continuous research engagement regarding e-Government services.

Occupational Class

No of Participants

Executive Management

Divisional Heads

Division
Government Solutions and Standards
Chief Strategy Officer
Government Information Management

Senior Managers

Government Solutions & Standards

Advanced Specialist

Government Solutions & Standards

Senior Specialist

Government Solutions & Standards

Total

12

Government Solutions & Standards

1.7.2 The instrumentation used to collect data

The interview is a flexible tool for data collection, enabling multi-sensory channels to be used:
verbal, non-verbal, spoken and heard (Cohen, Manion & Morrison, 2007:349). Using face-toface interviews, primary data will be collected from the participants using a cellular mobile
phone, the Samsung Note II, which has recording capability. The researcher developed the data
collection questionnaire in a form of semi-structured interview guide. Before the actual data
collection, the researcher will need to pilot the semi-structured interview guide in order to gauge
how it will work with the participants. Scholastic understanding of piloting is that, its the initial

testing of the questionnaire/interview framework with a small number of participants that will
give an indication of where, how to structure data collection (Sampson, 2010:51; Maxwell,
2008:227; Ritchie and Lewis, 2003:134). The interview guide framework had five questions and
a number of sub question under each heading.

1.7.3 The procedure for conducting interviews

The procedure to be followed is that an initial questionnaire will be emailed to the participants so
that they could get a feel of the questions. The data collection exercise will be performed by the
researcher himself and it will be cheaper than employing external people. Appointments will be
set up with the respective respondents, it is hoped that this will be conducted in a boardrooms of
the company where the atmosphere is ambient and conducive to dialogue. A confidentiality and
anonymity will be verbally agreed upon as per the ethics governing research. Since the
researcher was known and trusted by the participants it is hoped that they would share their
daily challenges and experiences freely.

Prior to data collection, the researcher requested

permission to conduct the study from SITA (PTY) Ltd which has been granted.

1.8 Theoretical Framework

This research will attempt to explore and investigate the key factors that affect e e-government
service implementation at the State Information Technology Agency herein referred as SITA
(PTY) Ltd. It develops a conceptual framework on the basis of socio-technical systems approach
that emphasizes a two way continuous communication system of technology and organisational
environment. Therefore, this research has identified factors that affect the implementation of egovernment services and thereby aiding governments and SITA (PTY) Ltd in accessing what is
required to increase adoption. We will also highlight some research, practitioner and policy
implications for the future.

1.9 Assumptions, Limitations, and Scope

It can be argued that assumptions are self-evident truths that are clear to the researchers frame of
reference. The basic assumption is that participants are highly qualified people in the study. It
can also be assumed that participants will answer truthfully and accurately to the interview
questions based on their personal experience, and that participants will respond honestly and to
the best of their individual abilities. This frame of reference is postulated on the premise that the
participants are in their levels from a hierarchy point of view due to their competence, skill and
knowledge.
The studys limitations are based on the fact that as a researcher you have no control over such
things for example if participants refuse to answer certain questions in the interview framework.
It could happen that the potential for biases from a researcher point of view might pose a
challenge but these will be dealt with in a systematic way by avoiding them altogether. It is
hoped that personal perceptions and reality of the organisation will play a minimal role in the
framing of the final report.
The scope of this research will be limited to the number of participants as identified in chapter 3
and elsewhere in this chapter. The location of where this study is confined to SITA (PTY) Ltd
within the Government Solutions Services Unit. The study can be generalized to other similar
environments within government institutions and in academia as well.

1.10

Summary

Chapter 1 has covered the entire contents of this research in terms of how it will be conducted in
practical terms. This chapter covered the background to the problem that has been identified by
the researcher which is the factors that affect the implementation of e-government services the
general population from a SITAs point of view. The statement of the problem was articulated in
as the perceived lack of skill and the fact that South Africa has fell from the world rankings in

terms of e-Government. The purpose was also put out as the research approach, sampling
methodology and data collection research instrument and data analysis.
The significance of this study was identified as that of contributing to the body of knowledge and
literature in the e-government space. The primary research question was formulated to
complement the research design. Participants to the study were identified together with the
research instrument and the procedure that was followed. The chapter also identified the
theoretical framework and the underlying assumptions, limitations and scope of the research.