Understanding E

6
E-Government: a wired government takes shape
87
Introduction
87
Origins of a wired government
88
Citizen roles and services
91
The rhetoric of a wired government in various countries
94
The reality of a wired government in various countries
104
Conclusion
105
Note
107
References
108
7
ICT evaluation
111
Introduction
111
A definition and some distinctions
113
Pitfalls of evaluation in practice
115
Existing approaches
117
Conclusion
119
Notes
120
References
120
8
Conclusions and reflection
122
Introduction
122
Reflection on conceptualizations of ICTs
123
Social shaping at various levels of aggregation
124
The web of technology, power and institutions
125
Outlook
126
References
127
Index
128
vi
Contents

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Preface
This work is about a very odd couple: public administration and information and
communication technology (ICT). Representatives of both worlds have long
neglected one another, other than using overly stereotypical images of each
other’s disciplines. In fact I could observe this myself when I joined the
Information Systems group of the Faculty of Management and Organization
Science at Groningen (The Netherlands) in order to prepare a PhD thesis. I had
been trained in public administration and policy sciences, and at the beginning
my colleagues were rather confused with what they considered to be my preoc-
cupation with aberrant political processes and ‘irrational’ behaviour in general.
Having completed the PhD thesis, I joined the Public Administration group at
Erasmus University Rotterdam. There, my colleagues desperately tried to
persuade me of the irrelevance of technology for the study of policy processes
and public administration. At the same time they held me personally responsible
for everything that went wrong with their personal computers, Internet connections
and mobile phones, of course.
This book is neither about deviant technologies, nor about irrational behaviour
in public administration. Rather, it is an attempt to argue how specific information
and communication technologies in public administration are shaped and crafted
in accordance with prevailing interests, power structures and values, whereas 
at the same time the practices and values of public administration itself are 
challenged by the potential of ICTs.
I can only hope that this book helps to persuade those in charge of developing
public administration curricula to pay attention to ICTs in public administration
programmes, and that students of information systems are introduced to the
wonderful world of public administration. Let us hope that future public executives
and public managers will be better equipped to deal with the challenges of 
‘e-government’ and ‘e-governance’, beyond using it as a hollow phrase to denote
desired yet rather unspecified public management reforms.
I end this preface by mentioning Christopher Pollitt, now at the Catholic
University of Leuven, and Victor Bekkers of Erasmus University and by thanking
them for their encouragement and support. Christopher Pollitt encouraged me to

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write this book and his advice has without any trace of doubt improved the book.
Thanks to Victor Bekkers, who read the manuscript once it was near the final
stage, and whose support was indispensable throughout the writing process.
Vincent Homburg
Rotterdam, Dordrecht, The Netherlands
September 2007
viii
Preface

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