E-Government Implementation, Work Process Changes and Competency Training in Spanish Town Councils

Enrique Claver-Cortés, Susana de Juana-Espinosa, Jorge Valdes-Conca

Abstract


This paper aims to empirically explore whether changes in technological infrastructures and working processes have been perceived by local public employees, and if training programs have been used as a way to introduce these changes in a strategic manner. The analysis of the differences in the situation between 2005 and 2014 reveals an increased investment in technology and a decreased investment in training, and that public employees have not perceived a significant improvement in the way they work and in their efficiency levels. These findings emphasize the importance of competence-based management for the effective provision of public services. Purpose – This paper has as its aim to empirically explore whether changes in technological infrastructures and working processes have been perceived by local public employees, and if training programs have been used as a way to introduce these changes in a strategic manner. Design/Methodology/Approach – A longitudinal analysis was carried for this purpose asking about the presence of training actions addressed to the employees of Spanish public administrations and about the perception that ICT area managers have in regards to the effects caused by the introduction of e-government strategies. Findings – The results obtained show that town councils have increased their investment in technical aspects of e-government, but not in the development of competences to use the technology. In addition, the fact that public employees have not perceived a significant improvement in the way they work and in their efficiency levels leads to the conclusion that a decreased investment in competency training is not conducive to a greater sense of efficiency in the provision of public services. Research limitations/implications – The limitations of this paper lie on the lack of consideration of certain parameters which might influence strategic e-government implementation; plus incurring in single-bias response and considering only one case (Spain) in the research. The statistical analysis is merely descriptive, although it provides the researchers with clear results. Practical implications – Public managers and policy makers should reflect on the long-term effects of their e-government decisions or ‒ alternatively ‒ the absence of such effects. Shortterm ‘patches’ are only useful to meet a specific need during a certain period, whereas change management requires a more far-reaching, long-term look which can overcome the budgetary limits and the traditional bureaucratic barriers. Originality/Value – This paper presents the results of a longitudinal analysis carried out over nine years that explores first-hand opinions of e-government professionals, linking competency-base management and e-government success.

Keywords


public administration, ICTs, training, competency-based management, e-government, human resources, longitudinal analysis, Spain

Full Text:

PDF

References


Åkesson, M., Skålén, P. and Edvardsson, B. (2008). E-Government and service Orientation: Gaps Between Theory and Practice, International Journal of Public Sector Management, Vol. 21, No. 1, pp. 74‒92.

Bueno García, O. (2002). Modernización de la AAPP, líneas estratégicas para la e-Administración. Retrieved May 25, 2005 from http://www.lawebmunicipal.com

Burn, J. and Robins, G. (2003). Moving Towards E-Government: A Case Study of the Organisational Change Process, Logistics Information Management, Vol. 16, No.1, pp.25‒35.

De Luna Noyola, Á. G. (2008). Capital humano. Gestión por competencias laborales en la administración pública,Trillas, México.

De Vries, J. (2010). Is New Public Management Really Dead?, OECD Journal on Budgeting, Vol. 10, No. 1, pp. 1‒5.

Del Águila Obra, A. R. (2000). Comercio Electrónico y Estrategia Empresarial: Hacia la Economía Digital, RA-MA, Madrid.

Dunleavy, P. and Hood, C. (1994). From Old Public Administration to New Public Management, Public Money and Management, Vol. 14, Sept.‒Oct., pp. 9‒16.

Dunleavy, P., Margetts, H., Bastow, S. and Tinkler, J. (2006). New Public Management Is Dead: Long Live Digital-Era Governance, Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, Vol. 16, No. 3, pp. 467‒494.

FEMP: Federación Española de Municipios y Provincias (2002). Informe sobre experiencias de modernización y calidad. Retrieved November 2004 from http://www.lawebmunicipal.com

Ferlie, E., Ashburner, L., Fitzgerald, L. and Pettigrew, A. (1996). The New Public Management in Action, Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Galindo Meño, C. (2004). La nueva función pública y el cambio en la administración, paper presented at theI Seminario Nacional de Gestión Pública: Nuevos retos en el horizonte de las Administraciones Públicas, Murcia, Spain, April 2‒4.

Grant, R. (1996). Towards a Knowledge-Based Theory of the Firm, Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 17, Special Winter Issue, pp. 109‒122.

Guijarro, E., Babiloni, E. and Cardós, M. (2015). La Gestión por Competencias ane la Administración Pública Española. Retrieved March 2017 from https://riunet.upv.es/bitstream/handle/10251/53293/Gesti%C3%B3n%20por%20competencias%20en%20las%20Admones%20P%C3%BAblicas.pdf?sequence=1/

Ho, A. T. (2002). Reinventing Local Governments and the E-Government Initiative, Public Administration Review, Vol. 62, No. 4, pp. 434‒444.

Holden, S., Norris, D. and Fletcher, P. (2003). Electronic Government at the Local Level, Public Performance and Management Review, Vol. 26, No. 4, pp. 325‒344.

Hood, C. (1991). A New Public Management for All Seasons?, Public Administration, Vol. 69, No. 1, pp. 1‒19.

Hood, C. (1995). The “New Public Management” in the 1980s – Variations on a Theme, Accounting, Organizations and Society, Vol. 20, No. 2‒3, pp. 93‒110.

Johnson, R. and Mullen, T. (2000). Electronic Auctions for Delinquent Tax Properties: E-Government in Riverside County, California, Government Finance Review, Vol. 16, No. 1, (February), pp. 19‒21.

Mahler, J. and Regan, P. (2003). Developing Intranets for Agency Management, Public Performance and Management Review, Vol. 26, No. 4, pp. 422‒432.

Margetts, H. (2009). The Internet and Public Policy, Policy and Internet, Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 1‒21.

McIvor, R., McHugh, M. and Cadden, C. (2002). Internet Technologies: Supporting Transparency in the Public Sector, International Journal of Public Sector Management, Vol. 15, No. 3, pp. 170‒87.

Norris, D. and Reddick, C. (2012). Local E-Government in the United States: Transformation or Incremental Change?, Public Administration Review, Vol. 73, No. 1, pp. 165‒175.

Op de Beeck, S., and Hondeghem A. (2010). Competency Management in the Public Sector: Three Dimensions of Integration, paper presented at the International Research Society for Public Management (IRSPM) Conference, Berne, Switzerland, April 7‒9.

Prokopiadou, G., Papatheodorou, C. and Moschopoulos, D. (2004). Integrating Knowledge Management Tools for Government Information, Government Information Quarterly, Vol. 21, No. 2, pp. 170‒198.

Schedler, K. and Scharf, M. C. (2001). Exploring the Interrelations Between Electronic Government and the new Public Management, [in:] B. Schmid, K. Stanoevska-Slabeva and V. Tschammer (Eds.), Towards the E-Society. E-Commerce, E-Business, and E-Government, Kluwer, Boston, MA.

Šiugždinienė, J. (2006). Competency Management in the Context of Public Management Reform, Public Policy and Administration, Vol. 1, No. 18, pp. 26‒33.

Sotiraku, T. and Zeppou, M. (2004). The “MATE” Model: A Strategic Knowledge Technique on the Chessboard of Public-Sector Modernization, Management Decision, Vol. 42, No. 1, pp. 69‒88.

Spicer, M. (2015). Public Administration in a Disenchanted World: Reflections on Max Weber’s Value Pluralism and His Views on Politics and Bureaucracy, Administration and Society, Vol. 47, No.1, pp. 24‒43.

Torres, L., Pina, V. and Acerete, B. (2005). E-Government Developments on Delivering Public Services among EU Cities, Government Information Quarterly, Vol. 22, No. 2, pp. 217‒238.

Weber, M. (1979). Economy and Society, University of California Press, Berkeley.




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17951/ijsr.2016.5.0.5
Date of publication: 2017-05-23 10:49:37
Date of submission: 2017-05-23 10:01:35


Statistics


Total abstract view - 792
Downloads (from 2020-06-17) - PDF - 0

Indicators



Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2017 Enrique Claver-Cortés, Susana de Juana-Espinosa, Jorge Valdes-Conca

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.