Examining Cross-Agency Collaborations in E-Government Initiatives

Abstract

Cross-agency collaborations are critical to the success of e-government, which has great potential to transform the way that governments work, share information and deliver services to external and internal clients. Most prior research examining cross-agency collaborations has focused on "what" and "why" issues, thus offering only limited discussions on how to ensure effective cross-agency collaborations. In this study, we propose a framework for the institution structure critical to effective cross-agency collaborations in e-government initiatives. We then apply this framework to examine the institution (enterprise) efforts for implementing OneStop Business Registration (OSBR), a successful e-government initiative in the State of Utah. Our framework encompasses critical enablers supported by a fundamental infrastructural underpinning. Institution structures that follow the proposed framework can facilitate the horizontal integration among multiple autonomous agencies while coping with the existing bureaucratic structures without challenging each agency’s objectives, constraints, or autonomy. Our analysis and findings have important implications to e-government research and practice, which are also discussed.