Is e‐government providing the promised returns?

Purpose The purpose of this viewpoint is to provide a framework for future research on e‐government impact. Design/methodology/approach Using a concise review of major e‐government studies, we present a value framework for assessing the impact of e‐government. Specifically, we integrate the two stakeholder perspectives on e‐government namely the “government” and the “citizen” and identify areas where e‐government can provide returns. Findings The model delineates three government and five citizen areas where e‐government may create an impact. The three government areas are policy making, program administration, and compliance. The five citizen areas are financial, political, social, ideological, and stewardship. The impact in these areas is created because of two major value‐generating mechanisms: enhancements in efficiency and enhancements in effectiveness. Further, the impact is created at different levels of analyses: local, state, and central governments. Originality/value This viewpoint provides a timely discussion on returns from e‐government and provides a value framework for assessing these returns. It also provides several suggestions for future research in this area. This viewpoint is a call for systematic future research on the impact of e‐government.