Innovation: a factor explaining e-government success in Estonia

Estonia is seen as a remarkable success story in the context of e-government. Several studies that have mapped the major factors affecting the evolution of e-government in Estonia are mainly grounded in information systems theory; even if public-private partnerships are examined, their treatment remains too general. The current article argues for the importance of public procurement for innovation. Several risks were avoided due to the high competencies of local suppliers, a lack of legacy infrastructure, and a supportive environment for ‘ethical hackers’. The importance of the framework and the success factors is illustrated by a case study on e-voting.