The Impact and Implementation of E-Commerce in

Government & Law Enforcement

Phillip R. Neely
Saint Leo University

Information technology has become a key element in the success of e-commerce and has brought many
new developments into the idea of an Internet government. This research is designed to evaluate various
components of a citizen-oriented government that will present services that mimic private sector
programs while maintaining the traditional scope of what government provides for citizens. Using data
from various scholars and e-government enthusiast, the comparison between e-commerce and e-
government will illustrate the correlation between services that are geared towards customers and their
success.

INTRODUCTION

The U.S. Constitution represents an attempt to codify the social contract between the government and
its citizens in an enduring document that supports a functioning government and society. The expansion
of federal power has been by accelerating development and use of technology. From curing disease and
increasing food quality and supply, to the space shuttle and the iPhone, technology has revolutionized
how individuals live and communicate (Thompson and Wilkinson, 2009). Governments are going on-line
and using the Internet to provide public services to its citizens (Layne and Lee, 2001). Ultimately, the
Internet has the capability to delivering the traditional model of government while also taking advantage
of incorporating services that are citizen-oriented.
The struggle between the governments-to-citizen relationships has forever been prevalent since the
establishment of the United States. The purpose for Internet government, e-government, is to bridge the
gap of communication and awareness between the citizens and the government. Restoring a healthier
balance can best be accomplished by strengthening the citizens or by limiting the government. Changing
technology, such as facebook, twitter, social media, and e-advertisements, creates opportunity for citizens
to speak and mobilize, even during economic turmoil and heated political debates (Thompson and
Wilkinson, 2009).
E-government is the use of technology to enhance the access to and delivery of government services
to benefit citizens, business partners and employees. It has the power to create a new mode of public
service where all public organizations deliver a modernized integrated and seamless service for their
citizens (Silcock, 2001). Daily people utilize emails and text messages because response times are, in
essence, immediate; therefore, obtaining results in a shorter span of time. Citizens manage their personal
finances through bank applications for cell phones or through the Internet at any time of day that is
convenient to them, not their bank. People have grown accustom to having services readily available
through these types of services that are available through the Internet. Do to this modern mentality of

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immediate responses, e-government can provide everything a citizen needs at the click of a finger;
therefore, the ability to fully integrate e-government is what must first be established.
Technology is not a solution in and of itself, but is a set of tools to achieve particular goals. The aim
is not to sidestep government with technology, but rather to make government’s size and physical scope
more consistent with principles of liberty while using technology to achieve societal goals- old and new
alike- more effectively (Thompson and Wilkinson, 2009).

CONTEXT OF THE PROBLEM

The primary justification for the move toward e-government, an electronic channel of service delivery
that has proven tremendously successful in the private sector … is the belief that it holds considerable
potential for positively transforming government service delivery in a manner that is consistent with
recent market-centered theories of public sector reform. Governments worldwide are moving toward e-
government and implementing services that can be utilized through various social media websites and
agency websites. The digital divide that exists today is between the computer literate and computer
illiterate and the haves and have-nots. (Belanger and Carter, 2009).
The lack of access to the Internet is a major element of the digital divide. Making the Internet
accessible to every square inch of the United States is a divide that can never be satisfied. However,
making information technology accessible in certain venues in communities can and will allow access to
all those that are able to take advantage of.
These divides can be identified as ethnicity, income, age, and education as significant forecasters of
admittance to technology (Belanger and Carter, 2009).
There are a significant amount of citizens that lack the dexterity necessary to effectively and
efficiently navigate online government sites (Belanger and Carter, 2009). Unlike the private sector,
government agencies have a charge to make their information and services available to everyone;
therefore, the digital divide has to be minimized in order to maintain transparency amongst those who are
being governed.
Accountability plays a very important role in the implementation of e-government. Government
accountability equates government openness, transparency, and interactivity. Wong and Welch suggest
that transparency refers to the extent to which an organization reveals work and decision processes and
procedures.
Website transparency is equivalent to a basic map of an organization as it reveals the depth of access
it allows, the depths of knowledge about processes it is willing to reveal, and the level of attention to
citizen response it provides. Interactivity refers to the relation between government and citizen (Wong
and Welch, 2004).
A transparent government allows citizens to monitor the performance of public organizations more
easily though the increase in the availability of information. A more interactive public organization
enhances accountability by being more responsive to the preferences of the citizenry (Wong and Welch,
2004). The amount and caliber of information that is accessible on the websites gives citizens the
impression that the agencies are providing all information necessary to maintain transparency.

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

Governance is moving from traditional methods of tangible communication to technology, which has
become “one of the core elements of managerial reform” (Moon, 2002). With this new technology
implemented into the way that citizens are governed, come many challenges such as accessibility,
accountability, restraints, and whether the services will promote and increase citizen participation.
Individuals are hesitant to trust information technology because of the many negative connotations that
come along with Internet services: stolen identity, credit card fraud, non-secure sites, etc. E-government,
though in its current developmental stage, will provide general information for government agencies,
local, state, and federal, policy updates and regulations, online voting, online voter’s registration, and

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other services. The availability of information and services that can be obtained through the Internet and
its accessibility to the citizens are key components to the citizen-to-government relationship.
Movements towards government agencies on the Internet through facebook, twitter, and other social
media’s have already begun to be implemented and accessed. Moving towards the fully integrate and
interactive websites is the e-government administrative goal.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The significance of this study is to illustrate how dramatic changes in technology over the past few
centuries have affected the strain that the Framers built into our system. There has always been a
functional limit on democratic government because it is difficult to muster the resources for a full
referendum whenever an issue needs to be decided. Nonetheless, the Internet allows and provides a venue
for citizens to have a collective voice that can be heard at unimaginable levels that have not been seen
before (Thompson and Wilkinson, 2009). Technologies can go further to transform both the delivery of
services and the more efficient and transparent regulation of market participants (Thompson and
Wilkinson, 2009).
There is a genuine concern among policy makers that developing electronic service delivery and
communications will lead to already excluded groups becoming, if anything, further disadvantaged.
Disadvantaged citizens are those of lower income and those that live in communities with limited Internet
access. There are innovative possibilities for ensuring better access to those said disadvantaged groups
(Silcock, 2001). In addition to social disadvantaged, the digital divide is not so much a question of access
but of education.
You can put computers in libraries or community centers, but they cannot be utilized if individuals do
not know how to use them (Silcock, 2001). In order for e-government to be successful, all disadvantage
groups must be satisfied.
Technology is democratically neutral. Used wrongly, it could stifle diversity or reinforce current
patterns of power and debate; used well, it could create new ways for people to interact, particularly at the
global and local level (Silcock, 2001). Just as citizens have matriculated from simply searching
information on the internet to purchasing items; soon, citizens will move from simply searching
information on government agencies to expecting to be able to cast online votes (Silcock, 2001).
In addition, the major goal for government is to gain more participation with the citizens and
constituents to better service the nation. Unlike traditional structures, which are hierarchical, linear, and
one-way, Internet delivery systems are nonhierarchical, nonlinear, two-way, and available 24 hours a day,
seven days a week. The nonhierarchical character of Internet delivery frees citizens to seek information at
their own convenience, not just when a government office is open (West, 2004). By allowing this type of
access to information, citizens will be more incline to interact with these government sites at their leisure.
Moreover, this study will examine the new technologies and how they enhance communication by
overcoming geographical distance, promoting ideological variety, opening citizens to more diverse
viewpoints, and encouraging deliberation (West, 2004)

LITERATURE REVIEW

There have been many challenges as to why the traditional model of government is shifting to e-
government. Traditional governments are departmentalized and emphasize routinization (Ho, 2002). This
form of government is centralized with a hierarchy of power placed in the office of fiscal affairs, mayor’s
office, and city council. Through traditional government, backroom meetings take place in order to
determine what is best for the citizens. The ideas and pleas from the citizens are barely heard simply
because there is no power in the citizen’s voice. However, all is not lost in traditional government. Two
advantages of traditional government are that the cost of communication is reduced drastically because all
communication is departmentalized and all procedures are routine.

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 Many times citizens complain about the long waits in line at the county court house or county tax
office and this is due to the routine procedures of checks and balances. The fact that one form had to go
through four different offices before returning to the citizen was quite extensive; however, those checks
and balances insured that the form was filed correctly. The problem with this process is that fraud, human
error, and other acts of negligence would occur, resulting in paperwork being filed incorrectly and ruining
the government-to-citizen relationship. Attending council meetings, hand-writing feedback, and
responding to surveys are all deterrents to citizen participation.
The revamping of the government is an effort to re-establish the government-to-citizen bond.
Governments have to consider citizens as customers and try to understand what they need in order to
better participate and trust the government. Governments have to think about ways to empower the
citizens and allow them to take ownership of community and regional problems. Citizens seem to think
that only people in that area can actually facilitate the needs of that community; therefore, by giving those
citizens ownership of that problem and giving feedback and suggestions to the government will allow
citizens to view the government-to-citizen bond as a partnership.
Technology has forever altered the structure of daily activities; constantly revitalizing the way
businesses, social media, and governments handle daily activities. Appealing to the modern, technology
sound person has become the main purpose for government agencies. Five years ago, touch screen cell
phones were hardly tangible articles; today, it is unheard of a flip phone or a non-touch screen phone.
Social media sites such as facebook, twitter, and other sites, allow individuals to maintain and remain in
contact with friends and family, all at the touch of a button. Emails have almost become a thing of the
past since text messages and various instant messaging programs have become such popular means of
communication. Everything is at the click of a button, swipe of a bank card, or tip of the finger,
technology continues to revolutionize how individuals live and communicate.
Governments, state, local, and federal, have grown to realize the shift in which the world is turning
towards. Since the changes and advancements of technology, governments are shifting towards services
that are available and accessible through the same media programs that individuals are custom to utilizing
during their daily routines. Ultimately, the internet or World Wide Web has allotted the possibility for
these services to be available. Nonetheless, the problems with these technological advancements are the
social and technological disconnects between generations and ongoing struggle with citizen-to-
government relations.
The purpose for integrating technology into the disbursement of government information and services
is to create a link between the citizens and the government to establish a better relationship and
connection. Restoring a healthier balance can best be accomplished by strengthening the citizens
confidence and illustrating government transparency through medias that are frequently utilized;
facebook, twitter, social media, and e-advertisements, etc. By utilizing these medias, the government is
ultimately mobilizing its information and accessibility through the information highway. Currently,
President Obama has a twitter account, and though he personally does not update his account, he is
utilizing that particular social media to present information to the public in an effort to keep them
informed. E-government will not decrease the amount of information or news presented on television or
radio; it simply presents information to the citizens who are constantly on-the-go. The purpose for
integrating the internet is not to diminish traditional means of obtaining information, rather, to increase
the outlets for maximum delivery.
Before the Internet emerged in the late 1980’s, the government was already actively pursuing
information technology to improve operating efficiency and to enhance internal communication (Ho,
2002). After the internet evolved and the World Wide Web was developed, internal communication was
not longer the goal and the shift to external dissemination of information became the goal. By allowing
the shift to give access to fiscal information, missions and updates on current programs and projects, and
contact information to citizens, governments began to realize that internet government was the shift in
citizen relations they had been waiting for.
The availability and rise of e-commerce also contributed to the shift to internet government.
Companies began to allow customers to conduct business through the internet by making payments,

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money transfers, account management, and provided access to purchasing merchandise. The rise and
establishment of e-commerce shifted how citizens viewed shopping and fiscal management. No longer
did citizens have to physically go to stores during holiday seasons and fight the crowd, rather, sit in the
comfort of their own homes and purchase items through secure payment sites that protected their identity,
privacy, and fiscal information. Instead of going to the bank and transferring funds to different accounts;
customers can go the banks website, sign in with a unique username and pass code, and electronically
transfer funds. It was e-commerce that illustrated to the government that in order to increase in value,
citizens must increase in worth. As they say in sales, the customer is always right.
The modern government has transitioned from a period of being active and having the mentality that
only the people can help the people, to currently being in an activated period where the government is
intertwined with its citizens. Governmental information and transparency has been a progression with the
citizens. In the modern government model, citizens are empowered and governments are negotiators
(Bannister & Wilson, 2011). The key component to a well working government-to-citizen relationship is
the way information is delivered.
One of the purposes for e-government is to establish a two way interaction between citizens and
government agency. The problem with this relationship is that governments have a plethora of department
and agencies within, which illuminates the complexity of government structure within itself. In Rachel
Silcocks article, “What is e-Government,” she suggests that there are six stages that government agencies
will have to pass as electronics develop internally and externally. Information publishing/dissemination is
the first stage in which government departments and agencies set-up their websites with their designated
information services and contacts. This is considered one way communication because there is no
interaction with the citizen. One -way communication is just like the billboards that line the interstate; not
interactive, simply informative.
After one-way communication is established, two-way transactions, which allow citizens to submit
personal data, such as, change of address, paying a parking ticket, or enrolling in school. At this stage of
e-government, citizens have to be reassured that the information that is being inputted will remain safe
and private. With so many Internet hackers roaming around the World Wide Web, providing private
information such as birth dates and maiden names has caused citizens to be hesitant. In order for two-way
communication to work, government departments and agencies have to keep the site piracy free. In this
stage, citizens are looking for accountability.
Governments cannot assume that all because technology is increasing, that citizens want to use or
have government services through the Internet. This is the main restraint that prohibits e-government
from being utilized as projected. Though the Internet accounts for the majority of the “e” in e-
government, the proper channels have to be met in order for maximum access and utilization. The gap
between fully integrated systems and the perception of fully integrated systems is what keeps citizens
hesitant. Silcock states that citizens are looking for electronic self-services that offer all the traditional
procedures for service from an employee and be fully automated from intake to uptake (Silcock, 2001).
Meaning, citizens do not want to file electronically and then have to physically file the same papers again.
Citizens need to be assured that e-government is truly a reality.
The skill divide is when citizens lack the knowledge and ability to successfully navigate a computer
and/or internet services. This is called technical incompetence because a person lacks the general
technique and knowledge of how to use a mouse, keyboard, or navigate basic functions. Secondly,
citizens that lack basic knowledge of technology vocabulary and resources are at a disadvantage. Most of
these citizens that represent this divide are grandparents and members of rural/agricultural communities.
Members of these communities could utilize the internet to project growth of crops, find new ways to
manage their land, or increase productivity. Using the internet has limitless capabilities and once the
divide is decreased, e-government will see an increase just as e-commerce has.
In addition, governments could utilize incentive programs that will encourage citizens to utilize the
internet services. Citizens will be more inclined to utilize the internet services if they knew that there was
an incentive to gain. Another avenue to gain participation from the disadvantaged group is by having
tutorials to give a step-by-step instruction on how to fully utilize the internet and the benefits from the

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services. Along with the tutorial, citizens have to be able to navigate department and agency websites
effortlessly. The biggest deterrent for citizens when searching for information is the inability to easily
navigate to the site or service that needs to be accessed. Norris and Moon stated that in 2000, 83.6 percent
of local governments had websites, and in 2002, that number increased 4.1 percent to 87.7 (Moon
&Norris, 2005). Many times, the availability of local websites is contingent upon the population and
regional size.
Data accuracy is another restraint that disables the ability to obtain accurate and efficient information.
In a 2002 survey on the age of government web sites, 68.5 percent of web sites were three year old or
less, 27.1 percent were 4 to 5 years old, and 4.4 percent were more than five years old. In order to
maintain some sense of impartiality or fairness, the gap between five years or older and three years and
younger needs to be drastically decrease. Updating websites has to be a priority when moving towards a
fully integrated government system that provides services to the general public. In order to keep
customers/citizens content with e-government, departments and agencies will have to spend more money
for IT personnel.
Information Technology plays a vital role in the implementation, sustainability, and accountability of
e-government. It is the key component that links the government-to-citizen boundary, which leads to the
government’s openness and accountability. Change in the level of website openness represents the
revealed level of change in accountability of the public agency (Welch & Wong, 2004). The ability to
interact with the government allows the citizens to view what various departments and agencies are doing.
If the government limited the information, it would show a lack of transparency and accountability.
Technology is attempting to put the individual back at the center of life, liberty, and government
(Thompson & Wilkinson, 2009). Dating back to the development of the United States Constitution to the
Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the “separate by equal” doctrine in the Brown v Board of Education
case in 1954, the citizen has always been the determinant in what the government will stand for. The
history of this nation illustrates the struggle between government and citizen relations. Birthed into a land
of slavery and inequality, to the current President being an African American citizen, and this rebirth of
citizen being a priority has again illustrated that citizens control government.
Finally, citizens have to choose to adopt e-government and accept the shift in how information is
delivered. Do to the digital divide, it can be said that the acceptance of e-government is going to be more
prevalent in certain groups, such as, younger, better educated, and have higher income status.
Demographics such as age, education, and income help determine the divide and illustrate how
technology has influenced America. Citizens that represent the divide as listed above are inclined to
utilize e-government because they utilize e-commerce sites; eBay, twitter, facebook, social media, online
banking, and purchasing other goods. The younger generation has embraced technology because
technology assisted in the world in which they grew up.
Individuals, whose education and community upbringing was established on traditional means of
communication, are the same individuals that represent the digital divide and lack the knowledge to fully
accept e-government and all that it offers. Currently, administrators are shifting from the traditional
operations of physically filing, setting up appointments in books, and typing out speeches, to moving
everything to electronics. Office phones are now internet driven and e-files are emailed across the nation.
Personnel can now receive monthly checks on a credit card instead of receiving a tangible check. All this
to illustrate that the digital divide is not what is prohibiting e-government from being fully integrated into
daily lives; rather, the digital divide lack the skills and knowledge to help fully integrate e-government.
Citizens who represent the digital divide, between the ages of 50-75, do not trust e-government
because they lack the knowledge of how e-government can increase their voice and input in their own
communities. Therefore, the quality of performance that citizens anticipate receiving should not
overshadow the ability of services that can be delivered. One thing that most citizens have to realize is
that, technology, though it appears to move very quickly, is very slow in implementation because there
has to be consideration on security, privacy, and ability. For instance, anyone can suggest that e-
government should be able to allow citizens to register to vote, vote, and see the number of voters in their
community. Though it sounds fine in nature, the problem still exist that how a person votes is personal

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preference and is not public knowledge. Also, even with unique usernames and passwords to
acknowledge yourself, online voting is still a long ways in the future. There are expectations as this that
illustrate the restraints of how far e-government can go.
Nevertheless, e-government aims to satisfy the citizens of the United States. Undeniably, satisfaction
represents the predominant concept in contemporary marketing research (Morgeson & Mithas,
2009).Citizen satisfaction is e-governments foundation. The purpose for e-government is to re-establish
the government-to-citizen relationship; therefore, the implementation of e-government relies heavily on
the services provided and satisfaction of those services. Inevitably, e-government cannot be an effective
influence on citizen’s behavior if the citizens are not satisfied with their services.
In addition, the view that citizens have on their local or state government and their trust in
Washington, dictates their general trust in government all together. Many times people distrust the
government because of what they have heard on the radio or television; not realizing that the radio and
television are forms of e-government. Citizens distrust the nation’s federal government, which trickles
down to distrust in state and local governments as well. Though there is no obvious connection to e-
government and Washington that can account for the distrust in both governments, it can be said that if
the perception of one is changed, the perception of both will change as well. In other words, the
perception of government holistically has to be positive in order for e-government to work and increase
citizen participation. There are many models that scholars have used to illustrate the connection between
human behavior and the acceptance of traditional government and internet government, and they all are
surrounded by the citizen’s perception of government and their satisfaction level.
The implementation of e-government has to be real and practical. Governance through the internet is
going to happen, internally and externally. Internal governance is going to focus on system efficiency and
security, while externally, citizens will determine if the government is transparent and effectively
presenting information and services. Internally, the power conflicts over departmental boundaries and
control of services will surface as integration progresses (Layne & lee, 2001).
In e-government, citizens must have the option and freedom to express services and effectiveness of
sites. Layne and Lee suggest that fully integrated government sites should have check boxes for citizens
to determine whether they want other agencies to be able to view their information or not. By putting this
power in the citizen’s hand, various agencies and departments are allowed to understand the citizen’s
wants and needs. Rethinking how e-government works and the key components of its implementation into
the World Wide Web, it can be said that in order for it to succeed, the government-to-citizen relationship
has to be good, citizen input has t be respected, and total system integrity has to be accomplished.

METHODOLOGY

The practice and implementation of e-government is moderately new and has a long while before its
adaptation to the world is fully integrated and accepted. Avenues in which researchers have gone down to
determine the best strategy for implementation has been presented through surveys, focus groups, case
studies, and simply analyzing data in reference to governmental styles and its effectiveness.
Various governmental sites began to pop up in the early 1990’s which simple one-way information
that the general public could access. Information included contact information, general information on
department, and very little access to the inner workings of the department or agency. With technology
progressively transforming and evolving, the delivery methods and services provided have begun to shape
what the modern economy views as government.

RESEARCH QUESTION

Research Question: Will e-Government decrease or increase public interaction with

local, state, and federal governments in the United States?

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 Implementation of anything that is new will surely present its restraints and constraints after a couple
practice runs. Just as in sports, a basketball team can only shape its strategy based off of the height and
size of its team members; therefore, it would not be in the best interest of the team to establish a game
plan that centers on speed when the team consist of tall and bulky members. This same strategy has been
applied to e-government and the technology that surrounds the implementation and longevity of the
transforming government. Websites are the common place to view and obtain information dealing with
local, state, and federal government; however, not all local governments have websites dedicated to their
citizens needs.
In 2004, 96.2 local governments were affianced in some sort of internet government, providing
minimum information to its citizens (Coursey and Norris, 2008). Nonetheless, this percentage was also
based off of populations of no less than 10,000, which leaves out quite a few rural communities whose
population is less than 10,000. It is suggesting that communities, whose population is small, do not utilize
the internet or need to communicate via internet because they have a ‘family” oriented community. These
types of communities suffer from the geographic digital divide because their voices are too little to be
heard. Meaning, in the hierarchy of government, local yields to state and state yields to federal; in
political terms, small cities do not yield large voting power and luxuries are given to those who present to
have power to change.
In addition, of these local governmental Web sites, only 23 percent of the citizens actually utilized the
sites (Coursey and Norris, 2008). Researchers believe that local and state governments have bought into
the ‘field of dreams” mentality that if they build it, the citizens will come; however, this mentality it not
the one to utilize when presenting information in a capacity that costs and its success is based off of
participation. It seems as though public administrators and the government combined have missed the
point that the services and information that is being provided has to be something that the citizens want
and need. If the demand is low, e-government officials have to recognize this demand and present
something that will encourage citizens to utilize the services.
The findings suggest that the movement of e-government not be rushed, rather, allow the shift to
progress in increments. As stated before, e-government needs to mimic the tortoise in regard to
maintaining a steady pace and making changes when it best suits the administration. Electronic
government is continuously evolving which is why it is important that researchers continue to develop
and uncover different models to analyze for implementation to ensure that the best model is adopted. As
Web sites mature, so will the technology and the ability to fully integrate government sites. The restraints
or barriers that have been discussed are not deterrents of e-government, rather, tools to sharpen the blade
of e-government so that when it has come out of the fire, e-government will be a well practiced way of
governing it citizens. The ability to give citizens what they want will always be the demand of
government; therefore, e-government sites will continue to be tested to ensure that its citizens are
obtaining the services in the manner in which they feel is best or most convenient.
Simply providing classes illustrating the types of services that are and can be available could assist in
increasing the likelihood of a better e-government. Table one illustrates a survey given to a diverse group
to identify the demographic characteristics that differentiate users from non-users of e-government
services (Belanger and Carter, 2009).

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 TABLE 1
INTERNET AND WEB EXPERIENCE

Percentage of respondents who…

had convenient access to the Web 96%
used the Web everyday 80%
used the Web to gather information several times a week 67%
used the Web to make a purchase never or less than once a month 61%
used the Web to gather information from the government 83%
had used the Web to complete a government transaction 66%

E-government, unlike the private sector, has a duty to ensure that citizens have full access to
information and services that is available to everyone, but because of the various restraints in the
implementation of technology, the adoption of e-government has been limited. With further research on
gaining access to the internet and decreasing the amount of computer illiterate citizens, e-government
should see an increase in services used. The internet has proven to improve the citizen-to-business
interaction by providing citizens with online payments, online banking, e-commerce, and other various
services. With the same technologies implemented by the government, the government-to-citizen
interaction will increase as well.
The digital divide accounts for many of the setbacks in regard to the implementation of e-
government; however, e-government has proven to be a hindrance of its own. Some theorist believe that
with the implementation of an internet based government, the physical size of the administration will
decrease as well. Therefore, the modern public administrator has to battle the issue of various digital
divides and current administrators that are, in essence, fighting for their careers. Not only are current
administrators thinking of their own careers, but these are the same citizens who lack the knowledge of
computer usage and capabilities. In order to alleviate this divide, government agencies and departments
need to implement continued education classes that assist with current employees learning the internet
and services that are available.

FIGURE 1
DIGITAL DIVIDE AND E-GOVERNMENT USAGE

ACCESS DIVIDE SKILLS DIVIDE

Ethnicity Computer Experience

Income Intention to General Internet Use

Use E-
Government
Education Online Purchases

Age Gender Online Information Search

100 Journal of Management Policy and Practice vol. 15(1) 2014

 Technology has afforded citizens the opportunity to look at government beyond the physical structure
and has begun to usher in a new era of government that can be accessed 24 hours a day and seven days a
week. Once the technology has been fully integrated and has proven to provide services that the citizens
want, brand new technologies can be implemented to continuously increase the limitless possibilities of
technology and the internet. The increasing possibilities of technology and internet, offers the ability to
aggregate in a new way and take the social contract of individual rights and the power in the citizens
voice to new bounds.

CONCLUSION

Governments are beginning to utilize social media to begin the process of allowing citizens to
understand their office/department and provide needed information on a daily or weekly basis. Some
social media sites that are being utilized are twitter, facebook, and linkedin. Not only are governments
providing needed information on these sites but also they are slowing shifting their way of disseminating
information into an internet based method. This way of disseminating information is very effective
because citizens utilize these social medias hourly, if not sooner.
Not only are social networks utilized but news companies have also engaged in disseminating
information through the internet because it allows companies to deliver information in “real-time.” CNN,
FOX, and other major news organizations have applications that can be downloaded to any smart phone,
and information can either scroll on the home screen as a marquee or text messages can be delivered to
the handheld to keep the citizen informed. These capabilities have only scratched the surface as to what
technology can bring to the citizen. The capabilities and services that can be provided for citizens are
limitless, public administrators just have to realize this potential.
The world has shifted towards the instant gratification model in regards to making money, seeing
results, marriage, and a plethora of other aspects of life, and this same instant gratification has spread to
governments and the services that they can provide. Private sectors have solidified their ability to provide
services to their customers that are customer-oriented and have limitless availability. Services such as
personal banking through banking applications, eBay, and Amazon; customers are no allotted the
privilege to deposit and transfer funds while shopping for merchandise. Some bigger metropolitans have
even begun to provide online grocery shopping to prevent customers from standing in lines or having to
go to grocery stores early in the morning or late at night to avoid the lines and crowds. It is this type of
forward thinking that has catapulted e-commerce and the private sector into the leading organizations in
regard to online services that customers want.
If e-government was to mimic the forward thinking that the private sector has presented, citizen’s
utilization of internet government services would definitely increase. The question is not so much if e-
government will increase or decrease citizen interactions, rather, what can citizens do to assist the
government during the shift and implementation of e-government in the United States. As stated before,
the private sector has been successful simply because they have listened, polled, and researched customer
feedback and have developed services based solely off of what those evaluations stated. The fact that the
government is grossly larger than the private sector does account for many of the drawbacks when
shifting to fully integrated government sites; however, with time, e-government will be able to develop
internal programs that will intertwine departments to assure a smoother transition to other departments
that can be related. By developing this type of program, e-government public administrators will be able
to provide departmental transparency and accountability.
In addition, e-government officials must also take into consideration the financial savings as well as
the decrease in personnel. Utilizing the internet to provide services will grossly decrease the amount of
salaries, operational costs, paper usage, office equipment, and actually office space. Though the economy
will be gaining more funds to allocate to different departments in which would see an influx of money
that can be reallocated into the economy; however, on the backside is that unemployment would increase
as well. Research suggests that though the sheer size of government would decrease drastically, the
physical government would not totally die. There would be two forms of government: those that monitor

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internet services and those that handle the physical aspect. With this new government, some positions will
be duplicated simply because administrators will not be able to handle both internet clients and physical
clients; resulting in a system that is fully integrated with both technology and traditional forms of
governing.
Also, public administrators and other officials can research and apply for grants that can fund
programs to assist citizens that are victims of the digital divide. Most grandparents are not able to
navigate the Internet, let alone, have the knowledge or skills to use the basic operations of a computer.
These grants can provide needed assistance to citizens and illustrate how the basic usage of computer
components and after that skill mastered, usage of the internet will be taught. Many senior citizen
programs have classes that teach patrons how to use a computer; therefore, that same system could be
adopted into programs that are geared to but not limited to senior citizens or individuals who lack the
knowledge of computer usage.

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