Abstract
Continuous organizational transformation is becoming a common phenomenon as public agencies rapidly embrace new information technologies (IT) to streamline and re-invent their obsolete operations. However, due to the overwhelming extent of the necessary changes as well as the sheer diversity of stakeholders involved in transforming corporate functions, practitioners are finding it difficult to manage the level of dynamism required in the effort. In an attempt to shed some light on the phenomenon of managing e-transformation, this paper examines in-depth an e-government initiative. Through the study of how one organization in the public sector adapts to the dynamic customer relations brought about by e-transformation, the case serves to identify the governing factors for successful organization–stakeholder relations, and how these may have a bearing on the development of effective e-transformation strategies. An important contribution of this study is the proposal of a development model of relationships in organizations for an understanding into how organization–stakeholder relationships can be efficiently managed to bring about an effective overhaul of business processes.
This is a preview of subscription content,
to check access.

References
Aichholzer G and Schmutzer R (2000) Organizational challenges to the development of electronic government. In Proceedings of 11th International Workshop on Database and Expert Systems Applications, pp 379–383. Greenwich, London, U.K., Sep 6–8.
Allen BA, Juillet L, Paquet G and Roy J (2001) E-governance & government on-line in Canada: partnerships, people & prospects. Government Information Quarterly 18, 93–104.
Benbasat I, Goldstein DK and Mead M (1987) The case research strategy in studies of information systems. MIS Quarterly 11(3), 369.
Bowker GC, Timmermans S and Star SL (1995) Infrastructure and organizational transformation: classifying nurses' work. In Proceedings of the IFIP Working Group 8.2 Working Conference on The Interaction of Information Systems and the Organization, pp 344–370. Cambridge, U.K., Dec 7–9.
Bozeman B (2000) Bureaucracy and Red Tape. Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ.
Bozeman B and Kingsley G (1998) Risk Culture in public and private organizations. Public Administration Review 58(2), 109–118.
Burn JM and Robbins G (2001). Strategic planning for e-government: a customer value based model. In Proceedings of the Seventh Americas Conference on Information Systems, pp 1578–1583. Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A., Aug 3–5.
Calista DJ (1986) Reorganization as reform: the implementation of integrated human services agencies. In Bureaucratic and Governmental Reform (CALISTA DJ, Ed), pp 197–214, JAI Press, Greenwich, CT.
Clements L (1994) Privatization American style: ‘the grand illusion’. In International Privatization: Strategies and Practices (CLARKE T, Eds), pp 87–104, Walter de Gruyter and Co., Berlin.
Coursey D and Bozeman B (1990) Decision making in public and private organizations: a test of alternative concepts of “publicness”. Public Administrative Review 50(5), 525–535.
Csetenyi A (2000) Electronic government: perspectives from e-commerce. In Proceedings of the 11th International Workshop on Database and Expert Systems Applications, Greenwich, London, U.K., Sep 6–8.
Cutlip SC, Center AH and Broom GM (1994) Effective Public Relations. Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
Davenport T (1998) Putting the enterprise into enterprise system. Harvard Business Review 76(4), 121–131.
Davenport T (2000) Mission Critical: Realizing the Promise of Enterprise Systems. Harvard Business School Press, Boston.
Davies L and Mitchell G (1994) The dual nature of the impacts of it on organizational transformations. In Proceedings of the IFIP Working Group 8.2 Working Conference on Information Technology and New Emergent Forms of Organizations, pp 243–261. Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S.A., Aug 11–13.
Devadoss P, Pan SL and Huang JC (2002) Structurational analysis of e-government initiatives: a case study of SCO. Decision Support Systems 34, 253–269.
Dillman DL (1998) Leadership in the American civil service. In Reform, Ethics and Leadership in Public Service (HUNT M and O'TOOLE BJ, Eds), Ashgate Publishing Ltd, Aldershot.
Dozier MD, Grunig L and Grunig EJ (1995) Manager's Guide to Excellence in Public Relations and Communication Management. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers, Mahway, NJ.
Eisenhardt KM (1991) Better stories and better constructs. Academy of Management Review 16(3), 620–627.
Elgarah W and Courtney JF (2002) Enhancing the G2C relationship through new channels of communication: web-based citizen input. In Proceedings of 8th Americas Conference on Information Systems, pp 564–568. Dallas, Texas, U.S.A., Aug 9–11.
Frederickson HG (1997) The Spirit of Public Administration. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA.
Garnham N (1990) Capitalism and Communication: Global Culture and the Economics of Information. Sage Publications, London.
Goodhue DL, Barbara HW and Watson HJ (2002) Realizing business benefits through CRM: hitting the right target in the right way. MIS Quarterly Executive 1(2), 79–94.
Gregory RJ (1999) Social capital theory and administrative reform: maintaining ethical theory in public service. Public Administrative Review 59(1), 63–75.
Hales M, Sang B and Marsh S (1994) The theory and practice of getting humans into global organizations: performing rather than preforming. In Proceedings of the IFIP Working Group 8.2 Working Conference on Information Technology and New Emergent Forms of Organizations, pp 175–195. Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S.A., Aug 11–13.
Halligan J and Turner M (1995) Profiles of Government Administration in Asia. Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra.
Haque MS (1994) The Emerging challenges to bureaucratic accountability: a critical perspective. In Handbook of Bureaucracy (FARAZMAND A, Eds), Marcel Dekker: New York.
Haque MS (1996) Public service under challenge in the age of privatization. Governance 9(2), 186–216.
Haque MS (1998) Legitimation crisis: a challenge for public service in the next century. International Review of Administrative Sciences 64(1), 13–26.
Haque MS (2001) The diminishing publicness of public service under the current mode of governance. Public Administrative Review 61(1), 65–82.
Ho ATK (2002) Reinventing local governments and the e-government initiative. Public Administration Review 62(4), 434–444.
Jensen MC and Meckling WH (1976) Theory of the firm: managerial behaviour, agency costs and ownership structure. Journal of Financial Economics 3, 305–360.
Kelegama S (1995) The impact of privatization on distributional inquiry: the case of Sri Lanka. In Privatization and Equity (RAMANADHAM VV, Ed), Routledge, London.
Klein H and Myers M (1999) A set of principles for conducting and evaluating interpretive field studies in information system. MIS Quarterly 23(1), 67–93.
Klenke K (1994) Information technologies as drivers of emergent organizational forms: a leadership perspective. In Proceedings of the IFIP Working Group 8.2 Working Conference on Information Technology and New Emergent Forms of Organizations, 323–341.
Korpela E (1994) Path to notes: a networked company choosing its information systems solution. In Proceedings of the IFIP Working Group 8.2 Working Conference on Information Technology and New Emergent Forms of Organizations, pp 219–242.
Kotchegura AP (1997) The Russian civil service: legitimacy and performance. Paper presented at the Civil Service Systems in Comparative Perspective, Indiana University, Indiana, April 5–8.
Kruckeberg D and Starck K (1998) Public Relations and Community: A Reconstructed Theory, p 52. Praeger, New York.
Lacity M and Janson MA (1994) Understanding qualitative data: a framework of text analysis methods. Journal of Management Information System 11(2), 137–155.
Lawson G (1998) NetState. Demos, London.
Ledingham AJ (2001) Government–community relationships: extending the relational theory of public relations. Public Relations Review 27, 285–295.
Lenk K and Traunmuller R (2000). Presentation at the IFIP WG 8.5 Working Conference on Advances in Electronic Government. Zaragoza, Spain, Feb 10–11.
Lowndes V, Pratchett L and Stoker G (2001) Trends in public participation: Part 2 – citizen's perspectives. Public Administration 79(2), 445–455.
Mackenzie K (1986) Virtual positions and power. Management Science 32(5), 622–643.
Markus ML and Benjamin RI (1997) The magic bullet theory in IT-enabled transformation. Sloan Management Review 38(2), 55–68.
Markus ML, Axline S, Petrie D and Tanis C (2000) Learning from adopters' experiences with ERP: problems encountered and success achieved. Journal of Information Technology 15, 245–265.
Merton RK, Fiske M and Kendall PL (1990) The Focused Interview: A Manual of Problems and Procedures. (2nd edn.) Free Press, New York.
Milford HS (2000) Racing to e-government: using the internet for citizen service delivery. Government Finance Review 16(5), pp 21–22.
Moon MJ (2002) The evolution of e-government among municipalities: rhetoric or reality? Public Administration Review 62(4), 424–433.
Moon MJ and Bretschneider S (2002) Does the perception of red tape constrain IT Innovativeness in organizations? Unexpected results from simultaneous equation model and implications. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory 11(3), 327–352.
Mumford E (1994) Technology, communication and freedom: is there a relationship? In Proceedings of the IFIP Working Group 8.2 Working Conference on Information Technology and New Emergent Forms of Organizations, pp 303–322. Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S.A., Aug 11–13.
Norris D and Kraemer K (1996) Mainframe and PC computing in American cities: myths and realities. Public Administration Review 56(6), 568–576.
Norris P (1999) Who surfs? New technology, old voters, and virtual democracy. In Democracy.com? Governance in Networked World (KAMARCK EC and NYE JS, Eds), pp 71–94, Hollis Publishing Company, Hollis, NH.
Nutt PC and Backoff RW (1992) The Strategic Management of Public and Third Sector Organizations. San Francisco, Jossey-Bass.
Nutt PC and Backoff RW (1997) Facilitating transformational change. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science 33(4), 490–508.
Nutt PC, Backoff RW and Hogan MF (2000) Managing the paradoxes of strategic change. Journal of Management Studies 9(1), 5–31.
Orlikowski W (1993) Case told as organisational change: investigating incremental and radical changes in system development. MIS Quarterly 7(3), 309–340.
Oszlak O (1997) The argentine civil service: an unfinished search for identify. Paper presented at the Civil Service Systems in Comparative Perspective, Indiana University, Indiana, U.S.A., April 5–8.
Pan SL and Lee JN (2003). Using e-CRM for a unified view of the customer. Communications of ACM 46(4), 95–99.
Porter ME (1992) Capital choices: changing the way America invests in industry. Research Report Presented to the Council on Competitiveness and Co-sponsored by the Harvard Business School, Boston.
Powell W (1987) Hybrid organizational arrangements: new forms or transitional development? California Management Review 30(1), 67–87.
Prahalad CK and Ramaswamy V (2000) Co-opting customer competence. Harvard Business Review 78(1), 79–87.
Rainey GW (1990) Implementing and managerial creativity: A study of the development of client-centric units in human service programs. In Implementation and the Policy Process: Opening up the Black Box (PALUMBO DJ and Calista DJ, Eds), pp 89–106, Westport, CT: Greenwood.
Rainey GW and Rainey HG (1986) Breaching the hierarchical imperative: the modularization of the social security claims process. In Bureaucratic and Governmental Reform (CALISTA DJ, Ed), pp 171–196, JAI Press, Greenwich, CT.
Rainey H, Paney S and Bozeman B (1995) Public and private managers' perceptions of red tape. Public Administration Review 55(6), 567–574.
Rainey HG, Backoff RW and Levine CH (1976) Comparing public and private organizations. Public Administration Review 36(2), 233–244.
Reschenthaler GB and Thompson F (1996) The information revolution and the new public management. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory 6(1), 125–143.
Robertson PJ and Seneviratne SJ (1995) Outcomes of planned organizational change in the public sector: a meta-analytic comparison to the private sector. Public Administration Review 55(6), 547–558.
Robey D and Sahay S (1996) Transforming work through information technology: a comparative case study of geographic information systems in county governments. Information Systems Research 7(1), 63–92.
Sarker S and Lee AS (1999) IT-enabled organizational transformation: a case study of BPR failure at TELECO. Journal of Strategic Information Systems 8(1), 83–103.
Schachter HK (1994) The role of efficiency in bureaucratic study. In Handbook of Bureaucracy (FARAZMAND A, Ed), pp 227–240, Marcel Dekker, New York.
Schubert P and Häusler U (2001). E-government meets e-business: a portal site for startup companies in Switzerland. In Proceedings of the 34th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, Hawaii, U.S.A., Jan 3–6.
Seavey AC (1996) Final thoughts on interesting times. Journal of Government Information 23(4), 515–520.
Shleifer A and Vishny RW (1998) A survey on corporate governance. Journal of Finance 52, 737–784.
Smithson S, Baskerville R and Ngwenyama O (1994) Perspectives on information technology and new emergent forms of organizations. In Proceedings of the IFIP Working Group 8.2 Working Conference on Information Technology and New Emergent Forms of Organizations, pp 3–13, Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S.A., Aug 11–13.
Stratford JS and Stratford J (2000) Computerized and networked government information. Journal of Government Information 27, 385–389.
Strauss AL and Corbin J (1990) Basics of Qualitative Research: Grounded Theory Procedures and Techniques. Sage Publications, London.
Taylor M and Kent ML (1999) Challenging assumptions of international public relations. Public Relations Review 25(2), 131–144.
Thomas KW and Velthouse BA (1990) Cognitive elements of empowerment: an “interpretive” model of intrinsic task motivation. Academy of Management Review 15, 666–681.
Thomas JC (1999) Bringing public into public administration: the struggle continues. Public Administrative Review 59(1), 83–88.
Toffler A (1985) The Adaptive Corporation. McGraw-Hill, New York.
Toffler A (1990) Powershift: Knowledge, Wealth and Violence at the Edge of the 21st Century. Bantam, New York.
Veenswijk MB and Hakvoort JLM (2002) Public–Private transformations. institutional shifts, cultural changes and altering identities: two case studies. Public Administration 80(3), 543–555.
Venkatraman N (1994) IT-enabled business transformation: from automation to business scope redefinition. Sloan Management Review 35(2), 73–87.
Ventriss C (1989) Toward a public philosophy of public administration: a civic perspective of the public. Public Administrative Review 49(2), 173–179.
Walsham G (1993) Interpreting Information Systems in Organizations. Wiley, Chichester.
WASHINGTON DEPARTMENT OF INFORMATION SERVICES (1996) Strategic Information Technology Plan. Department of Information Services, State of Washington, Olympia, WA.
Webler T and Tuler S (2000) Fairness and competence in citizen participation – theoretical reflections from a case study. Administration & Society 32(5), 566–595.
Wimmer M and Traunmuller R (2000) Trends in electronic government: managing distributed knowledge. In Proceedings of the 11th International Workshop on Database and Expert Systems Applications, pp 340–345, Greenwich, London, U.K., Sep 6–8.
Wimmer M, Traunmuller R and Lenk K (2001) Electronic business invading the public sector: considerations on change and design. In Proceedings of 34th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, Hawaii, U.S.A., Jan 3–6.
Winter SJ and Taylor SL (1996) The role of IT in the transformation of work: a comparison of post-industrial, industrial and proto-industrial organization. Information Systems Research 7(1), 5–21.
Wenger EC and Snyder WM (2000) Communities of practice. Harvard Business Review 78(1), 139–145.
Yin RK (1994) Case Study Research: Design and Methods. Sage, London.
Acknowledgements
We are grateful to Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) for their generous support of this study. This study was partially funded by the Academic Research Grant of National University of Singapore.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Tan, C., Pan, S. Managing e-transformation in the public sector: an e-government study of the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS). Eur J Inf Syst 12, 269–281 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.ejis.3000479
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.ejis.3000479