South Korean Public Officials'Perceptions of Values, Failure, and Consequences of Failure in E-Government Leadership

Abstract

Electronic government (e-government) holds the potential to provide a long list of benefits, including easier access to public information, enhanced citizen involvement, more efficient public service, and increased accountability. This article introduces a competing values approach as a conceptual framework for identifying e-government value and describing potential e-government effectiveness models: organizational learning, digital democracy, information security, and cost efficiency. Using data from a survey of South Korean public officials, this article identifies e-government values as perceived by public officials. This research also analyzes public officials’ perceptions of partial failures in their e-government efforts and appropriate consequences for failing to achieve e-government goals. The article concludes with a number of suggestions for e-government effectiveness and management leadership.