The role of social actors in the sustainability of e-government implementation and use: Experience from Indonesian regencies

Abstract

The sustainability of e-government implementation and use involve many actors. However, limited studies have addressed how actors play a role in the sustainability of e-government implementation and use in particular at local government level. This study uses social actor theory from Lamb & Kling [1] to explore the role actors play in the sustainability of e-government within two regencies in Indonesia. Social actor theory posits that the social actors play various roles to produce goods and services through interactions with other actors in various contexts both internal and external organizations. Our findings show that e-government implementation and use within local government was sustained by social actors that play roles across four dimensions; affiliation, environment, interaction, and identity. Our study contributes to better understanding of how social actors across internal local government hierarchies (users and implementers in the regency office, districts, and villages) and external local government (e.g. central government institutions, vendors, and citizens) play roles in sustaining e-government. © 2014 IEEE.