Implementing successful e-government in Ireland: the importance of business process redesign

Competitive pressures and improvements in information technology constantly force organisations to re-evaluate their business strategies (Porter, 2001; Venkatraman, 1994). Although public-sector organisations may not operate in a competitive environment, changes in management philosophies are causing public-sector organisations to think and act more like private-sector organisations (Gulledge & Sommers, 2002). Electronic government is one means by which governments can offer more effective and efficient services (Layne & Lee, 2001). This article investigates the evolution of e-government in Ireland. A case study is presented detailing how the Irish government's e-government strategy was devised and implemented. The success of this implementation yields valuable insights into the identification and management of critical concerns during the evolvement and attainment of business-process redesign in e-government. Cumulatively, these lessons provide a road map for the successful attainment of citizen-centric e-government.