The First Leg of E-Government Research

A comprehensive analysis of 110 peer-reviewed journal papers published from 1998 to 2003 suggests that the conceptual domains and application areas covered by e-government research focus predominately on capabilities and interactions, whereas value distributions and policy orientations are largely ignored. Onwards, e-government research is more concerned with conceptualizing government and e-services than in exploring the governmental role in technology diffusion and the role IT plays in democracy and participation. This orientation of the current research body is an indicator that the legacy of IS research themes dominates the e-government research body and that interdisciplinary research involving core public administration research along with IS research is yet to emerge. It is proposed that the field could be more unified if it considered both the e and the government of e-government.