HICSS - 52 Digital Government Track
52nd Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences
January 8-11, 2019 - Grand Wailea, Maui, HI, USA

Government Innovation in the Digital Age

Minitrack Description

Government innovation through the development, implementation and use of digital technologies is on every agenda globally. Both practice and research communities suggest that the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in governments and societies at large has substantial innovation potential. Phenomena like the sharing economy, big or open data, automation, robotization, Internet of Things (IoT), social media and, more recently, blockchain technologies, just to mention a few, significantly impact government organizational structures, managerial and financial practices, and overall culture. ICT-enabled innovation in government agencies through emergent technologies could significantly change governments and their relationships with citizens, being driven both from inside a government organization, from politicians and decisions makers, or from external stakeholders such as citizens, individual practitioners or companies. From a research point of view, it is important to study innovative practices in government from different perspectives, and to critically and jointly examine technologies, policies, practices, and patterns of success and failure. When doing this, we can treat digital government as a multidisciplinary and multidimensional phenomenon in order to understand and to explain its potential for ICT-enabled government transformation and processes of digitalization.


In this mini-track, we welcome studies focusing on different perspectives, levels or aspects of strategic, political, institutional, managerial, organizational, individual, legal, economic, and external relationship factors within digital government and, particularly, ICT-enabled government innovations. We welcome papers that focus on innovation and the transformational aspects of digital government as well as their implications for government(s) and the society as a whole. We also seek papers that clearly establish an understanding of how technology can enable governments and their leadership to improve government efficiency, making decision-making process more transparent, interacting with their citizenry and, most importantly, developing trust between governments and citizens. We invite empirical, theoretical, and/or conceptual contributions, with diverse research approaches and techniques that show the importance of governmental, institutional, organizational, managerial, and democratic aspects of innovation in digital government.


This minitrack acknowledges the complexity of governing, organizing, and managing digital government innovations and their transformative potential especially in the context of emerging phenomena using new digital technologies. Increasingly, this involves inter-organizational and cross-sector collaboration and co-creation of value, and cross-jurisdictional networks, and the management of a large variety of relationships with both internal and external stakeholders.


Research Topics (include but are not limited to):

  • Government innovation through digital technologies - conceptual and critical perspectives.
  • Policies, strategies, culture and value foundations for ICT-enabled government innovation.
  • Theoretical foundations and perspectives on digitalized government.
  • The role of ICT, people and processes of digitalization government.
  • Critical, success and failure focused studies of contemporary development and use of digital technology in governments.
  • Strategies for the design, development, implementation, maintenance, performance, and evaluation of e-Government applications and processes.
  • Multidisciplinary and multidimensional perspectives on digital government.
  • Governance, accountability, and transparency in digital government.
  • Service transformation, innovation and multi-channel service delivery.
  • Integration of government data (big, open etc.), services, and/or processes.
  • Transformational aspects and implications of data analytics, policy informatics, and smart cities.
  • Change management in e-Government initiatives focusing on continuous improvement and radical change/innovation.
  • Engagement, stakeholders and e-participation initiatives within digital government.
  • Efficiency and/or effectiveness and the creation of value through e-Government initiatives.
  • Stakeholder engagement in digital governments.
  • Cross-government and cross-sector information sharing, regional, national and transnational information sharing networks, information integration, privacy, and security.
  • Impact, outcomes, and implications of e-Government initiatives and related methods and frameworks for evaluation.
  • Political, economic, legal, and social aspects of emerging digital government.
  • Organizational, managerial, and governance aspects of government transformation through digital technologies.

More information on the minitrack chairs:

Muhammad M Kamal is a Senior Lecture (Associate Professor) in Operations and Supply Chain Management and Director of Undergraduate Studies at the Brunel Business School, Brunel University London. Dr Kamal has contributed to several research grants including funded through EU Framework 7 and QNRF, and currently PI for the EMPATIA project from Brunel University London. Dr Kamal has published over 70 articles in leading and top ranking refereed journals (e.g. International Journal of Production Research, Expert Systems and Applications, Information and Management, Government Information Quarterly, Journal of Business Research) and conferences. He is a Senior Editor for Information Systems Management journal, Deputy Editor for the Journal of Enterprise Information Management and Transforming Government: People, Process and Policy and Editorial Board Member for Government Information Quarterly. In line with his multidisciplinary expertise and knowledge, his research interests include operations and supply chain management, supply chain integration, business modelling and simulation in supply chains, information systems integration, management information systems, social media/enterprise social networks, electronic government/transforming government, and organisational leadership. For more information about Dr Kamal, please visit the following: www.brunel.ac.uk/people/muhammad-kamal


J. Ramon Gil-Garcia is an Associate Professor of Public Administration and Policy and the Research Director of the Center for Technology in Government, University at Albany, State University of New York (SUNY). Professor Gil-Garcia is a member of the Mexican National System of Researchers and of the Mexican Academy of Sciences. In 2009, he was considered the most prolific author in the field of digital government research worldwide and in 2013 he was selected for the Research Award, which is "the highest distinction given annually by the Mexican Academy of Sciences to outstanding young researchers." Currently, he is a Faculty Affiliate at the National Center for Digital Government, University of Massachusetts Amherst and an Affiliated Faculty member of the Informatics Doctorate Program at the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, University at Albany. Professor Gil-Garcia is the author or co-author of articles in prestigious international journals in Information Systems, Public Administration, and Digital Government and some of his publications are among the most cited in the field of digital government research worldwide. His research interests include collaborative electronic government, inter-organizational information integration, smart cities and smart governments, adoption and implementation of emergent technologies, digital divide policies, new public management, public policy evaluation, and multi-method research approaches. For more information about Professor Gil-Garcia, please visit the following websites: , .


Ulf Melin Professor in Information Systems and Head of division of Information Systems at Linköping University in Sweden. He is active in the e-government research area and has published in several e-government journals and conferences (e.g. Government Information Quarterly, Transforming Government - People, Process and Policy (TGPPP), International Journal of Electronic Governance, International Journal of Public Information Systems; and e.g. ECIS, AMCIS, ACIS, IFIP e-government). Ulf serves in several programme committees and e.g. as a member of the editorial board for Government Information Quarterly and Journal of Enterprise Information Management. His research interests within the e-government area is oriented towards management of digitalization within the public sector, e-service development, stakeholder involvement and participation, research methodologies and more recently also open government data. For more information about Professor Melin, please visit the following: , .


Co-Chairs

Muhammad Mustafa Kamal
(Primary Contact)

Brunel Business School
College of Business, Arts and Social Sciences
Eastern Gateway 203
Brunel University London
UK
Phone: +44 (0)1895 267728
Email: muhammad.kamal@brunel.ac.uk

J. Ramon Gil-Garcia
University at Albany
State University of New York
187 Wolf Road, Suite 301
Albany, NY 12205
Email: jgil-garcia@ctg.albany.edu

Ulf Melin
Linköping University
Department of Management and Engineering
Information Systems/VITS
SE-581 83 Linköping
Sweden
Phone: +46 13 284437
Email: ulf.melin@liu.se