"Integrated" and "Transcendent" E-government: Keys for Analyzing Organizational Structure and Governance

As e-government enters the “transformation” phase, public authorities face major challenges in terms of governance and leadership. The present article consolidates prior research related to organizational structure and governance, and provides an analytical framework intended to guide empirical enquiry and to orient action. We argue that our understanding is enhanced by distinguishing an “integration” stage and a “transcendence” stage of e-government maturity. While the former is accompanied by a profusion of inter-organizational arrangements, the latter’s distinctive feature are inter-personal networks. In order to appraise the implications of these organizational structures, we identify the main reasons behind their growing importance, analyze the ways they create value, and lay the foundations of a normative approach for the choice of governance structures.