Utilization of information technology by local governments : the impacts of political and the bureaucratic behaviors. A case study of six municipalities

Utilization of Information Technology (TT) to support goal achievement, has been reported to be a critical concern of Information Systems (IS) executives in large organizations. In the past decade, it has become one of the major areas of interest for the MIS community. Research in the area of IS in the public sector suggests that political and bureaucratic interests strongly influence IT utilization in local governments. However, no comprehensive work has been done to investigate how organizational behaviours associated with the political and bureaucratic nature of local governments influence the extent to which those organizations utilize IT to support their goals. This study proposes a framework to define how IT can be utilized to support four major goals of local governments: efficient administration, delivery of high quality services, objective and comprehensive decision making, and support of the democratic process. There are many factors which influence how local governments use IT to support their goals. Many of them are similar to factors which influence strategic use of IT in the private sector, and others are external to the organization. However, the literature suggests two internal factors that are qualitatively unique to governmental organizations and which are often mentioned as reasons why government actions do not follow normative expectations. These factors are commonly referred to as "politics" and "bureaucracy". This study postulates a model which explains IT utilization in local government as a function of seven behavioral patterns which stem from these two factors. In this model, "political leadership", "political involvement in IS development", and "authority structure" are variables that depict behaviours of the political level. "Corporate management approach", "fragmentation", "incrementalism", and "dominant orientation" are variables that delineate bureaucratic behaviours. A measurement tool was developed and tested for each of these variables, as well as for four variables which depict utilization of IT to support the goals of local governments. A multiple case study was conducted using six municipal governments; two with high utilization of IT, two with moderate utilization of IT, and two with low utilization of IT. Each pair consisted of a large and a medium size city. Data analysis was conducted at three levels. First, a within case analysis describes the situation found in each city, rates the city on each of the variables, and explains why it uses IT as it does. Second, at the model level, the analysis focuses on the relationships between the political and bureaucratic behaviour variables and IT utilization, and the soundness of the model's predictions. Third, between-cases analysis uncovers common trends in IT utilization among the six cities studied, and provides insights as to how politicians and bureaucrats influence it. The findings support the proposed model. In the study's sample, the political behaviour variable that has the strongest influence on the ability of the cities to use IT to support organizational goals was the existence of a unified authority structure at the political and administrative levels. It appears, however, that the influence of the political level on utilization of IT is only indirect and secondary to the influence of the bureaucracy. It was found that the politicians in the cities studied, in general, were not interested, or motivated, to develop and implement a vision regarding the role of IT in local governments. It therefore, seems unrealistic to expect the political level to initiate and champion IT utilization. At the bureaucracy level, a corporate management approach and a proactive, result focused, dominant orientation appear to be necessary conditions for the emergence of IS that supports organizational goals. Incrementalism and fragmentation of organizational power and decision making process seem to be strong impediments for utilization of IT to support organizational goals. On the more practical level, the findings from the six cases suggest that centralized approach to IS planning and development, standardization within and between cities, as well as with other levels of governments, nomination of executive level IS manager, and reliance on packaged solutions, may increase the ability of local governments to utilize IT effectively. The findings also suggest that IS development should be regarded as capital investment and implemented rapidly rather than in incremental steps. The measurement tools developed in this study can help practitioners plan, and evaluate themselves and provide a good starting point for researchers to embark on a large sample study.Business, Sauder School ofGraduat