E-Government, E-Business, And National Environmental Performance

What is the relative importance of the contextual factors facilitating e-government and e-business development in a nation? What is the relationship between e-government and e-business in a nation? What is the relationship of e-government and e-business development in a nation with its environmental performance? These are the three research questions that we intend to address in this study. Specifically, by utilizing the Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) theory and the Resource-Based-View (RBV) of a firm as guiding lenses, this study identifies the relative importance of TOE contextual factors (i.e., ICT infrastructure, human capital, and institutions) facilitating egovernment and e-business development. Further, grounding the discussion in information technology (IT) impact literature, we investigate the impact of e-government and e-business development on national environmental performance. By addressing the intersection of these two global trends (i.e., growing requirements for publicand private-sector organizations in a country to use the Internet for conducting their businesses and operations, and increasing demands for them to engage in nationallevel environmental sustainability practices), findings from this study is expected to contribute to the theoretical discourse on RBV and IT impact by identifying the relative importance of TOE contextual factors on e-government and e-business development in a country, and provide indications to practice on enhancing its environmental performance through effectively managing those factors and increasing the levels of e-government and e-business development.