A Pragmatic Approach to the e‐Government Maturity in Poland – Implementation and Usage of SEKAP
Ewa Ziemba and Tomasz Papaj University of Economica, Katowice, Poland ewa. ziemba @ ue. katowice. pl papaj. tomasz @ gmail. com
Abstract: The goal of our research was to explore and diagnose e‐Government maturity in Poland. First, the paper explains the nature of e‐Government and identifies major types of e‐Government services. Second, various models of e‐ Government maturity are identified, especially the five level maturity model used in the European Union. Next, the benchmarking indicators of e‐Government maturity in the European Union countries are shown and the European Union strategic plans for the maturity of e‐Government are presented. Then, the diagnosis of e‐Government services use in the context of their maturity, by the example of Poland, is established. The paper concludes with a discussion of research findings and recommendations for successful e‐Government maturity development. Finally, the future works are propounded.
Keywords: e‐government maturity, e‐Government services, levels of e‐government maturity, e‐government maturity models, SEKAP, Poland
1. Introduction
Socio‐economic development triggered by information and Information and Communication Technologies( ICTs) is not possible without an effectively operating government and especially without an electronic government( e‐Government)( Hanna, 2010; Ziemba, 2012). E‐Government involves rethinking government organizations and processes, changing behavior, and ICTs use to make government services more efficient and easier to access for citizens, enterprises and government agencies( Andersen, Medaglia, Vatrapu, Henriksen and Gauld, 2011; Irani and Love, 2008; Pina, Torres, Royo, 2009). Hence, the creation of an e‐Government requires an increase of ICTs role in public management and their use in order to rebuild government processes and organizations as well as to allow an access to electronic government services( e‐Government services)( Aldrich, Berlot, and McClure, 2002; Anttiroiko, 2008; Lisiecka and Papaj, 2009; Sahu, Dwivedi and Weerakkody, 2009; Ziemba, Papaj, 2012). Those services are rendered at different levels of maturity, which represent different levels of technological sophistication, stakeholders’ orientation and an administrative change( Andersen and Henriksen, 2006; Almarabeh and AbuAli, 2010; Ziemba and Papaj, 2012). Implementation of e‐Government services at the highest level of maturity has become a priority issue for many countries, regions and cities, as it has become for Poland and its many regions( voivodships)( COM, 2010, 2010a; Strategia …, 2008, 2009).
The goals of our research were to:( 1) explore e‐Government idea and different kinds of e‐Government services;( 2) identify models of e‐Government maturity; and( 3) assess the implementation and use of e‐ Government services in Poland in the context of their maturity.
First, the paper explains the nature of e‐Government and identifies the major types of e‐Government services. Second, various models of e‐Government maturity are identified, especially the five level maturity model used in the European Union. Next, the benchmarking indicators of e‐Government maturity in the European Union countries are shown and the European Union strategic plans for the maturity of e‐Government are presented. In the paper special attention is paid to the maturity of e‐Government in Poland, in particular Silesian voivodship. Hence, the diagnosis of the e‐Government implementation and use by the example of the Electronic Communication System for Public Administration( SEKAP) is established. The paper concludes with a discussion of research findings and recommendations for successful e‐Government maturity development. Finally, the future works are propounded.
We are confident that the obtained results will prove to be helpful for researchers and scholars in developing studies on e‐Government. Moreover, they can be useful while undertaking empirical activities aimed at e‐ Government development.
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