Leveraging E-Government for City Transformation: a Case Study of "Digital Wuyi"

Seeing the scarcity of successful e-government programs in developing countries while a high failure rate reported on the opposite, this study investigates the success of “Digital Wuyi” program in China. This study exhibits its ten-year roadmap in which the e-government has been continuously upgraded at a municipal level, spanning from e-government infrastructure and platform development, community informatization with rural priority, e commerce development for pillar industry, to Internet of Things development. Further, this study identifies the key success factors and reflects the corresponding practices that lead Wuyishan City to achieve the success in e-government development. We find that sustainable and dynamic strategic planning, mayor’s leadership with entrepreneurships spirits and action learning, public-private partnership and modular promotion contribute much to the success of this municipal e-government project in China. Implications of this study can be derived for the municipal government development in China and other developing countries.