Abstract: E-Government strategies, investments, project selection, and implementations
are influenced by value positions deeply enshrined in the traditions of
public administration, which are in turn reflected in the everyday discourse
of public managers. We analyse value traditions in the public administration
literature and their adaptation for e-Government and synthesise three
prominent positions. Administrative efficiency focuses on cost-effectiveness logics highlighted by
New Public Management thinking. Service improvement, derived from the tradition of public
service, emphasises the provision of better services for citizens. Citizen engagement, with
its roots in liberal democracy arguments, promotes responsiveness,
consultation, collaboration and participation. A set of foundational values
grounded in the deeply rooted bureaucratic tradition is also distinguished.
A qualitative survey of Danish local authority managers' value positions
shows a heavy bias towards administrative efficiency and an absence of
concern for citizen engagement. The implications of this efficiency
imperative are discussed.
Keywords: e-Government, value, local government, public administration, bureaucracy, New Public Management, IS management
