“…Furthermore, trust towards the government and the technology is one of the important factors which affects the adaptation of e-voting (Adeshina and Ojo, 2017;Kaya, 2019a). Muñoz-Cañavate and Hípola (2011) mentioned that the electronic signature (e-signature) is one of the most effective innovations for the electronic government. The confidentiality and validity of government transactions are ensured by e-signature as "the acknowledged electronic signature will have, with respect to the data given in electronic form, the same value as the handwritten signature in relation with those given on paper" (Muñoz-Cañavate and Hípola, 2011, p. 78).…”
Purpose
The manner in which people, businesses and governments perform is changing because of the spread of technology. Digitalization of governments can be considered a necessity as we are now entering the era of the Internet-of-Things. The advantages and disadvantages of electronic governments have been examined in several research studies. This study aims to examine the attitudes of decision-makers towards e-government. The research aims are as follows: to determine the problems related with e-government usage, to establish the factors which decrease the usage of e-government services and to propose recommendations for the effective application of e-government practices.
Design/methodology/approach
Qualitative research has been used for the study. Participants were chosen by the snowball sampling method, and face-to-face in-depth interviews were conducted with all decision-makers. In-depth interviews are more efficient and enable the acquisition of better qualitative information, in-depth knowledge and statistics, as the distance between the interviewer and interviewee is reduced (Stokes and Bergin, 2006). Questions asked can be categorized under two sections, where the questions in the first section are related to the decision-maker’s management style/managerial proposition, and in the second section, technological questions are asked in terms of the preferred communication method and the decision-makers’ attitudes towards e-government practices.
Findings
Decision-makers perceive electronic government to be important, while the level of importance is observed to be different among the decision-makers. Chronic problems exist in many countries, such as nepotism, where the decision-makers have conflicting arguments about e-government and the resulting effect on nepotism. Furthermore, the study also indicates that decision-makers are aware of the importance of mobile government, although they acknowledge that more time is required, as their country is still developing. Electronic voting is also perceived to be important, although the decision-makers believe that security and privacy issues need to be solved before related projects can be initiated.
Originality/value
This research can be a benchmark study for the decision-makers of small island developing states by means of e-government. The impediments preventing the effective application of e-government practices are also discussed in the study. This study will be useful to highlight the triggers and obstacles for e-government development in the context of a developing country. Internet penetration has increased significantly since the 2000s, and therefore, decision-makers need to consider the shift in citizens’ behaviour, such as the high usage of smartphones and the emergence of the Internet-of-Things (Kaya and Bicen, 2016; Kumar et al., 2017).
“…Furthermore, trust towards the government and the technology is one of the important factors which affects the adaptation of e-voting (Adeshina and Ojo, 2017;Kaya, 2019a). Muñoz-Cañavate and Hípola (2011) mentioned that the electronic signature (e-signature) is one of the most effective innovations for the electronic government. The confidentiality and validity of government transactions are ensured by e-signature as "the acknowledged electronic signature will have, with respect to the data given in electronic form, the same value as the handwritten signature in relation with those given on paper" (Muñoz-Cañavate and Hípola, 2011, p. 78).…”
Purpose
The manner in which people, businesses and governments perform is changing because of the spread of technology. Digitalization of governments can be considered a necessity as we are now entering the era of the Internet-of-Things. The advantages and disadvantages of electronic governments have been examined in several research studies. This study aims to examine the attitudes of decision-makers towards e-government. The research aims are as follows: to determine the problems related with e-government usage, to establish the factors which decrease the usage of e-government services and to propose recommendations for the effective application of e-government practices.
Design/methodology/approach
Qualitative research has been used for the study. Participants were chosen by the snowball sampling method, and face-to-face in-depth interviews were conducted with all decision-makers. In-depth interviews are more efficient and enable the acquisition of better qualitative information, in-depth knowledge and statistics, as the distance between the interviewer and interviewee is reduced (Stokes and Bergin, 2006). Questions asked can be categorized under two sections, where the questions in the first section are related to the decision-maker’s management style/managerial proposition, and in the second section, technological questions are asked in terms of the preferred communication method and the decision-makers’ attitudes towards e-government practices.
Findings
Decision-makers perceive electronic government to be important, while the level of importance is observed to be different among the decision-makers. Chronic problems exist in many countries, such as nepotism, where the decision-makers have conflicting arguments about e-government and the resulting effect on nepotism. Furthermore, the study also indicates that decision-makers are aware of the importance of mobile government, although they acknowledge that more time is required, as their country is still developing. Electronic voting is also perceived to be important, although the decision-makers believe that security and privacy issues need to be solved before related projects can be initiated.
Originality/value
This research can be a benchmark study for the decision-makers of small island developing states by means of e-government. The impediments preventing the effective application of e-government practices are also discussed in the study. This study will be useful to highlight the triggers and obstacles for e-government development in the context of a developing country. Internet penetration has increased significantly since the 2000s, and therefore, decision-makers need to consider the shift in citizens’ behaviour, such as the high usage of smartphones and the emergence of the Internet-of-Things (Kaya and Bicen, 2016; Kumar et al., 2017).
“…The global financial and economic crisis and the resulting search for greater efficiency, accountability and local democracy in public administrations have highlighted the importance of financial sustainability (FS) in public sector management (Rodríguez et al., 2014). This concept is especially significant in local authorities (LAs), which manage large budgets and high volumes of deficit and debt (Muñoz-Cañavate and Hípola, 2011), and provide a wide variety of public services. To enhance FS in LAs, countries such as the UK and Spain have implemented reforms based on the New Public Management (NPM) model (Laffin, 2016).…”
In recent years, the financial sustainability of local authorities has been recognised as a concept of crucial importance in ensuring that public services may continue to be delivered to future generations. Although many European countries have implemented programmes to enhance their financial sustainability, local authorities are characterised by differing administrative traditions and achieve diverse outcomes in response to the reforms made. Taking a comparative approach, the present study identifies institutional, macroeconomic and microeconomic factors that might influence local authorities’ financial sustainability in England and Spain in order to determine and explain similarities and differences in the drivers and risk factors for financial sustainability in local authorities’ provision of public services. Points for practitioners This article is based on three major theories (agency theory, neo-institutional theory and stakeholder theory) related to the institutional, macroeconomic and microeconomic factors determining financial sustainability and aims to identify these factors comparing different contexts (English and Spanish contexts). This identification of factors that influence municipal financial sustainability could clarify what policymakers might have done to prevent the crisis, what they should do to prevent similar failures in the future and how the long-term provision of public services may be ensured.
“…Today, many countries implement significant fiscal stimulus plans to cushion these effects, even despite the limited fiscal space they have due to their high indebtedness [22]. As of August 28, Brazil and Chile are the countries with the most aggressive fiscal stimulus plans, followed by Honduras, Peru, and Panama (see Table 1).…”
Section: The Covid-19 Pandemic In Latin Americamentioning
confidence: 99%
“…In addition, Well-conserved forest ecosystems reduce disease prevalence [52]. On the other hand, deforestation and changes in land use can alter interactions between man and animals, generating the potential for the transmission of zoonotic infections from animal populations to humans, as appears to have occurred with COVID-19; approximately 75% of emerging infections are zoonotic [22].…”
Section: Deforestation In the Time Of The Pandemicmentioning
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