Socio-technical Perspectives on e-Government Initiatives

ICTs are intended to be a powerful tool in support of government transition to the “Digital Age”. The purpose of this paper is to emphasize the importance of integrating a socio-technical perspective into the body of eGovernment practices. The current realisation in Italy of an “Action plan for eGovernment” is a source of interesting preliminary evidence for our purpose. 1 Standard (Tool) Model vs. Socio-technical Model In a highly relevant paper Kling and Lamb [5] observe that most IS projects are typically described in terms of what they refer to as the ‘Standard (Tool) Model’. In terms of this model, ICTs are often discussed as tools or simple appliances, even when they take the form of complex arrangements of varied equipment and rules/roles/resources [6]. Among other things, the Standard Model assumes that information systems are objective and rational, and thus, capable of being evaluated through the use of objective tools and techniques. Moreover, this model presupposes a one-shot implementation and assumes that an IT application has the same meaning and consequences for all users (“contexts are simple”). Finally, ICTs are expected to have direct and unambiguous effects. As opposed to the Standard Model, the authors propose the adoption of the “SocioTechnical Model”, in which IS projects outcomes are the result of a more complex interaction between technical and societal factors. Is the Standard Model view still valid after thirty years of systematic, empirically grounded research on ICT and organisational change in business firms and public agencies? Kling and Lamb suggest not. It is widely acknowledged that ICTs and the social and organizational settings in which they are embedded are in a relationship of mutual shaping. The Standard Model is simplistic and insufficient for adequately understanding the character of organisational change involving ICTs. In the opinion of Kling and Lamb, ICT-related innovation should be seen as an on-going social process that unfolds in the context of complex, negotiated relationships. A ‘socially rich view’ (i.e. based on socio-technical assumptions) seems to better conceptualise the role of ICT in the current e-business environment. The Socio-Technical Model takes into consideration