ali ziaee bigdeli muhammad kamal sergio de cesare brunel university – london july 2011

Inter-Organisational Electronic Information Inter-Organisational Electronic Information Sharing in Local G2G SettingsSharing in Local G2G Settings

A Socio-Technical IssueA Socio-Technical Issue

Ali Ziaee BigdeliMuhammad Kamal

Sergio de Cesare

Brunel University – LondonJuly 2011

Centre for Information Systems Research

OutlineOutlineOutlineOutline

• Introduction • Theoretical background on Electronic Information Sharing (EIS)• EIS Participation In Local Government Authorities –

Conceptual Framework• Research methodology • Case Organisation: LGA_North and LGA_East • Discussion – Factors Revision • Conclusion

19 April 2023 2Kingston University - IMKS Forum Meeting

IntroductionIntroductionIntroductionIntroduction• Information is a key business asset and fundamental to the delivery of public services, however;

• In order to overcome the above problem, Local Government Authorities (LGAs) as the primary interface between the central government and the citizens have now recognised that it is essential to transform their administrative processes (Fountain, 2001) and the use of ICT to facilitate the information sharing in a networked environment.

Repeated misuses and losses of sensitive information in both public and private sectors show the weakness of many organisations in managing When, with Whom, What, and How information should be shared (Richard Thomas, Former UK’s Information Commissioner).

19 April 2023 Kingston University - IMKS Forum Meeting 3

IntroductionIntroductionIntroductionIntroduction• Participation in Electronic information sharing (EIS) across government boundaries requires

fundamental technical and organisational changes;

From a technical point of view, information system developers are faced with a variety of challenges related to the existence of different platforms, diverse data structures and incompatible network infrastructures.

From a technical point of view, information system developers are faced with a variety of challenges related to the existence of different platforms, diverse data structures and incompatible network infrastructures.

From an organisational perspective, enabling information sharing requires new work processes among the organisations, leading to a considerable change in organisational structure and culture.

From an organisational perspective, enabling information sharing requires new work processes among the organisations, leading to a considerable change in organisational structure and culture.


• Hence the objectives of this research are summarised as: 1. Identify the factors affecting Electronic Information Sharing (EIS) in Government-to-

Government (G2G) collaboration.2. Present a conceptual framework in order to illustrate clearly the social and technical nature of

the phenomenon.3. Justify the identified factors through conducting two case organisations in governmental local

level in United Kingdom.

Theoretical Background on Electronic Theoretical Background on Electronic Information Sharing (EIS)Information Sharing (EIS)


• Some incentives for encompassing research on information integration and sharing is that previous research:

Have been conducted when information technologies were not as advanced and developed as they are today

Does not differentiate between electronic and non-electronic information sharing. This issue is fairly important as the expected benefits and risks differ in electronic and non-electronic information sharing.

Are focused on recognising the experiences and viewpoints of those government agencies which were pioneers in using technology and complex systems, rather than those agencies which might not be familiar with these initiatives.

Are mainly focused on information sharing in central/state level




• Since single and dependent organisations within a government cannot deal and solve complex problems related to service delivery alone, managing public services increasingly relies on multiple networks of interdependent organisations.

• Gil-Garcia et al (2009) clarified that inter-organisational information integration and sharing is a combination of both social and technical elements hence it is a very complicated field to study. For better understanding, they suggested:

Trusted Social Network

Trusted Social Network

Shared Knowledge

Shared Knowledge

Integrated Data

Integrated Data

Interoperable Technical

Infrastructure

Interoperable Technical

Infrastructure


• One of the few examples is the survey conducted by the Centre of Technology in Government (CTG) at the State University of New York. The researchers viewed information sharing and integration as a combination of four different but interrelated contexts.

EIS Participation In Local Government Authorities –EIS Participation In Local Government Authorities –Conceptual FrameworkConceptual Framework


Policy and Social EnvironmentPolicy and Social Environment

Inter-Organisation SettingsInter-Organisation Settings

Organisation / Business ProcessOrganisation / Business Process

Technology SolutionTechnology Solution

Electronic Information Integration and SharingElectronic Information Integration and SharingElectronic Information Integration and SharingElectronic Information Integration and Sharing

Figure 1. Contexts of Information Integration and Sharing (Pardo & Tayi, 2007)





Environmental LayerEnvironmental LayerEnvironmental LayerEnvironmental LayerPolitics

Critical MassLegal & Legislation

Economics

Management CapabilityOrganisational LayerOrganisational Layer

Goals/Objectives

Financial MatterTrustNetwork Collaboration

Business Process LayerBusiness Process Layer

Work Processes

Decision Processes

Technology LayerTechnology Layer

IT CapabilityData Standards

Data QualityData Security

Participation in Electronic Information SharingParticipation in Electronic Information SharingParticipation in Electronic Information SharingParticipation in Electronic Information Sharing

Perceived Barriers

Perceived Barriers

Figure 2. Factors Influencing Inter-Organisational Electronic Information Sharing and Integration

Research Methodology Research Methodology Research Methodology Research Methodology


Introduction to the Research Area

Obtaining Background Knowledge

Literature Review

Investigating the Research Gap/ Problem Area

Identifying Research Issues Regarding Participating in

Electronic Information Sharing (EIS)

Developing a Conceptual

Framework for Participating in EIS

Research Methodology: A Qualitative Case Study Research

Justifying the Use of Qualitative

Research Method

Case Study – Research Finding

Identifying Suitable Local Government Authority In the

UK

Conducting Case Enquiries Based on the Interview Agenda

Analysing the Case Data based on the Proposed

Framework

Extrapolate Lessons Learnt and Draw Empirical

Conclusion

Re

se

arc

h D

es

ign

Data

Co

lle

cti

on

Data

An

aly

sis

Start of the Research

End of Research

Formulate a Research Protocol

Develop and Identify SuitableResearch Strategy

Figure 3. Empirical Research Framework

Case Organisations: Case Organisations: LGA_North and LGA_EastLGA_North and LGA_East

Case Organisations: Case Organisations: LGA_North and LGA_EastLGA_North and LGA_East

• Since the aim of this paper is to validate the conceptual framework and the research presented herein is at an early stage, we only focused on testing the influential factors through applying the framework on two Local Government Authorities in the region of England.

• As we wanted to illustrate the fact that participation in EIS is a major challenge among all of the LGA’s department, in this stage, we did not focus on a specific department and tried to investigate the decision-making process for electronic information sharing.


From LGA_North, •Head of Information Technology (HIT)•Project Manager (PM) •Information Services Manager (ISM)

From LGA_North, •Head of Information Technology (HIT)•Project Manager (PM) •Information Services Manager (ISM)

From LGA_East, •Head of ICT(HICT)•Senior Information Systems Developer (SISD)•Information Service Delivery Manager (ISDM)

From LGA_East, •Head of ICT(HICT)•Senior Information Systems Developer (SISD)•Information Service Delivery Manager (ISDM)

Discussion – Factors RevisionDiscussion – Factors RevisionDiscussion – Factors RevisionDiscussion – Factors Revision

Table 1: Importance of Factors Influencing EIS at LGA_North and LGA_East


Less important ()

Medium important ()

Most important ()

Environmental Factors Organisational Factors Business Processes Factors

Technological Factors

Elections/New Admins Institutional Str. Authorisations Interoperability Fram.

Media Community Size BP Flexibility IOIS: SAP-ERP

Citizens' Demand Org. Size BP Complexity Info. Disposal Method

Budget Deficit Resources Process Controller

No.10 Pressure Cultural Changes

Info. Sharing Protocol ROI

Previous Lessons

Competition


Discussion – Factors RevisionDiscussion – Factors RevisionDiscussion – Factors RevisionDiscussion – Factors Revision


Conclusion Conclusion Conclusion Conclusion

1. Akbulut, A. Y., Kelle, P., Pawlowski, S. D. and Schneider, H. (2009). To share or not to share? examining the factors influencing local agency electronic information sharing. International Journal of Business Information Systems, 4(2), 143-172. 2. Beaumaster, S. (2002). Local government IT implementation issues: A challenge for public administration. System Sciences, 2002. HICSS. Proceedings of the 35th Annual Hawaii International Conference on, 1725-1734. 3. Dawes, S. S. (1996). Interagency information sharing: Expected benefits, manageable risks. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 15(3), 377-394. 4. Fountain, J. (2001). Public Sector: Early Stage of a Deep Transformation. The Economic Payoff from the Internet Revolution , edited by the Brookings Task Force on the Internet,Washington DC: Brookings Institution ,235-268.5. Gil-Garcia, J. R., Pardo, T. A. and Burke, G. B. (2007). Government leadership in multi-sector IT-enabled networks: Lessons from the response to the west nile virus outbreak. Workshop 4: Leading in a Multi-Sector Environment6. Jankowicz, A. D. (2000). Business Research Project. Business Press, London.7. Heeks, R. B. (2006). Implementing and managing eGovernment. London, UK: Sage.

References (1/2)References (1/2)


8. Miles, M. and Huberman, A. 1994. „Qualitative Data Analysis: An Expanded Sourcebook‟, Sage, Newbury Park, California. 9. Senyucel, Z. (2005). Towards successful E-government facilitation in UK local authorities. Proceedings of the e-Government Workshop,10. Pardo, T. A., & Tayi, G. K. f. (2007). Interorganizational information integration: A key enabler for digital government., 691-715. 11. Remenyi, D., and Williams, B. (1996), “The nature of research: qualitative or quantitative, narrative or pragmatic?”, Journal of Information Systems, Vol. 6, pp. 131-146. 12. Themistocleous, M., Irani, Z., Kuljis, J., & Love, P. (2004). Extending the information system lifecycle through enterprise application integration: A case study experience. System Sciences, 2004. Proceedings of the 37th Annual Hawaii International Conference on, 8. 13. Yin, R. K. (1994), “Case Study Research Design and Methods”, Sage, London.

References (2/2) References (2/2)


Many thanks..Many thanks..


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ali ziaee bigdeli muhammad kamal sergio de cesare brunel university – london july 2011

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