Zhang et. al Leadership Knowledge Management Model for E-Government Proceedings of the Fourteenth Americas Conference on Information Systems, Toronto, ON, Canada August 14 th -17 th 2008 1 A Leadership Knowledge Management Model for E-Government: A Preliminary Empirical Test Xiaoni Zhang Northern Kentucky University zhangx@nku.edu Victor R. Prybutok University of North Texas prybutok@unt.edu Sherry D. Ryan University of North Texas ryans@unt.edu Jason H. Sharp Tarleton State University jsharp@tarleton.edu ABSTRACT Although technology has greatly enhanced the ability of government to provide resources electronically, there is still a need for the development of knowledge management systems that potentially improve flexibility and provide citizens with better service. As e-government continues to grow, a key area is the advancement of leadership to increasingly provide effective knowledge resources to the public sector. Drawing from the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA) leadership triad as a research framework, the purpose of this study is to develop and test a model that identifies the relationship between leadership and knowledge management within a city government. The study, conducted over a five- week period, indicated a strong relationship between the MBNQA leadership triad and knowledge management. Keywords E-Government, knowledge management, leadership, Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. INTRODUCTION Technology developments have facilitated governments in achieving their goals and improving the quality of organizational offerings (Anderson and Adams, 1997). Technology is an aid because it has the potential to provide the convenience and accessibility of government services and information to citizens (Carter and Bélanger, 2005). It also can assist in decentralizing public administration and in enhancing the government's ability to oversee key activities (Ma, Jongpil and Thorson, 2005). However, many governmental agencies are realizing that technology alone is not a panacea, and that its effectiveness increases when technology is combined with the successful management of knowledge resources. In fact, the need for effective knowledge management (KM) is growing at all levels of government (Harman and Brelade, 2001). Thus, many governmental organizations are placing great importance on the development of knowledge management systems because of its promise of delivering better e-government services and improved performance. Knowledge is a critical resource that helps organizations to sustain improved business performance (Fedor, Ghosh, Caldwell, Maurer and Singhal, 2003). Knowledge management embodies synergistic integration of information processing capacity and the creative capacity of human beings in an effort to maximize the responsiveness and flexibility of organizations (Zhang and Zhao, 2006). Information Systems (IS) implementation in the public sector is often driven by the desire to enhance productivity and efficiency (Teo, 2005). Some research indicates that KM is a business enabler (Teo, 2005). E-government provides services to businesses, government employees, and citizens. In general, e-government requires a vast amount of information and knowledge because knowledge-focused approaches deliver more effective services and better representation (Harman and Brelade, 2001). Documenting and testing the importance of technology and knowledge in e- government is the motivation for this study that examines knowledge management as it relates to leadership. Furthermore, there is a lack of KM studies relevant to public sector e-government. In addition, although the importance of leadership is well recognized within the e-government arena, there is a paucity of quantitative assessment of leadership and KM contributions to e-government. The purpose of this study is to develop and preliminarily test a model that identifies the relationship between leadership and knowledge management in an e-government context.