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Chapter 21
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-0324-0.ch021
INTRODUCTION
E-Government development and implementation
initiatives face a number of external and inter-
nal challenges that can impact on the structure,
operation, and culture of public administration
(Snellen, 2000). These challenges span from
technological, economic, and organizational is-
sues to social, political, cultural, and even legal
issues (Carter & May, 2001; Chen, Chen, Huang,
& Ching, 2006; R. B. Heeks, 2003; Ndou, 2004).
Gohar Feroz Khan
YeungNam University, Republic of Korea
Junghoon Moon
Seoul National University, Republic of Korea
E-Government Issues in
Developing Countries:
An Analysis from a Digital Divide, E-Skills,
and Civil Confict Theory Approach
ABSTRACT
Electronic government, or e-Government, is the practice of providing public services to citizens, busi-
nesses, and other government agencies where government services can be accessed through the Internet,
mobile phone, fax, mail, telephone, and personal visits (MGAHA, 2005). Developing countries, utilizing
the late comer advantage, are mimicking trends of paperless governments with the expectations to reap
the same benefts enjoyed by developed countries. However, e-Government initiatives have not always
been successful in developing countries. According to the study conducted by Heeks (2003), the rate of
e-Government success in developing countries was only 15 percent. The authors believe that such failures
are mainly due to certain unique social, economic, technological, and environmental challenges faced
by e-Government in developing countries. For example, some major issues include digital divide, politi-
cal instability, and skills-related issues. However, the research dealing with these problems is limited.
Therefore, in this chapter, the authors discuss these challenges.