Public Value Provision: A Design Theory for Public E-services

Abstract

This paper addresses the design challenge of providing ICT systems for public e-service provision. Public sector services differ qualitatively from private sector services in that they aim to provide not just value for money but also public value. Generally speaking, public value is created when public organizations successfully meet the needs of citizens. Therefore, public sector ICTs have unique requirements that are not all thoroughly supported by traditional ICTs and their respective design theories. Using public value theory as a theoretical lens, this paper presents a design theory to guide developers of public sector ICTs on how to produce systems which provide public e-services through secure and inclusive information systems. These systems will, in turn, create public value by tackling digital inequality and easing citizens' online privacy concerns. The design theory was created while designing and deploying a digital postal system. By abstracting from the experience of building the system, a design theory for ICTs providing public e-services was formulated. This new design theory is an important theoretical contribution, because it provides guidance, from the perspective of public value provision, to developers and sets an agenda for IS research into public sector information systems design. It achieves this by articulating theory-based principles outlining how public value can be created through the development of appropriate ICTs.