Singapore Management University

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Research Collection School Of Accountancy School of Accountancy

4-2007

Managing Stakeholders during IT-Enabled Organizational

Transformation: A Case Study of E-Government in South Korea
Hyun Jeong KIM
Inha University

Gary PAN
Singapore Management University, garypan@smu.edu.sg

Shan Ling PAN

National University of Singapore

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Citation
KIM, Hyun Jeong; PAN, Gary; and PAN, Shan Ling. Managing Stakeholders during IT-Enabled
Organizational Transformation: A Case Study of E-Government in South Korea. (2007). Government
Information Quarterly. 24, (2), 338-352. Research Collection School Of Accountancy.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soa_research/585

This Journal Article is brought to you for free and open access by the School of Accountancy at Institutional
Knowledge at Singapore Management University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Research Collection School
Of Accountancy by an authorized administrator of Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University.
For more information, please email cherylds@smu.edu.sg.
 Published in Government Information Quarterly, 2007, 24 (2), 338-352. DOI: 10.1016/j.giq.2006.09.007

Government Information Quarterly 24 (2007) 338 – 352

Managing IT-enabled transformation in the public sector:

A case study on e-government in South Korea
Hyun Jeong Kim a , Gary Pan b,⁎, Shan Ling Pan c
a
College of Business Administration, Inha University, Incheon, 402-751, South Korea
b
Department of Accounting and Business Information Systems, Faculty of Economics and Commerce,
University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia
c
Department of Information Systems, National University of Singapore, 3 Science Drive 2,
Singapore 117543, Singapore
Available online 26 December 2006

Abstract

The implementation of e-government is a burgeoning phenomenon across the globe. It improves

and enhances the infrastructures and services provided to the citizens. However, a review of the IS
literature reveals that research on the implementation of e-government is rather limited, which could be
due to the general misconception of the public sectors as rigid and risk-averse establishments. The
shortage of studies on e-government’s implementation presents a knowledge gap that needs to be
plugged. This gap is significantly amplified by the increasing number of e-government initiatives
being implemented by governments in recent years. This paper describes and analyzes South Korea’s
Supreme Court Registry Office, which has implemented e-government. The case study discusses
practical implications and suggests future research areas. Findings of the study include the alignment
of technology and business processes, integration of resources into core business activities, integrating
stakeholders’ trust and commitment, and better understanding of the role of organizational learning,
which can enhance the adoption and institutionalization of e-government initiatives.
© 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

⁎ Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: kimhj@inha.ac.kr (H.J. Kim), gpan@unimelb.edu.au (G. Pan), pansl@comp.nus.edu.sg
(S.L. Pan).

0740-624X/$ - see front matter © 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.giq.2006.09.007
 H.J. Kim et al. / Government Information Quarterly 24 (2007) 338–352 339

1. Introduction

Electronic government (e-government) is the term for the technology-enabled

transformation of governments: for the reduction of costs, for the increase of transparency,
and for the improvement on service delivery and public administration (Irani, Love, &
Montazemi, 2006). E-government encompasses three modalities: (1) government to citizen,
whereby the citizens access government information and services online; (2) government to
business, which allows online interaction between government and the private sector; and
(3) government to government, depending on various levels of governmental agencies, to
deliver services and allocate responsibilities (Moon, 2002). According to the Accenture
(2004) report, the adoption of e-government can bring economic benefits by improving the
business environment of the private sector and attracting direct foreign investment. Such
potential benefits have led many countries to initiate e-government projects in recent years
(World Bank, 2006). As a result, the implementation of e-government burgeons across the
globe, with substantial investment made to give enhancement to infrastructures as well as
services to citizens (Ebrahim & Irani, 2005). Despite their tremendous potential, e-
government projects carry considerable risks of implementation failure (Kawalek &
Wastell, 2005). For example, overly ambitious project scale and scope (Beynon-Davies,
1995), lack of political will to transform government functioning, and inadequate capacity
to design and implement solutions are possible reasons for implementation failure (Pan,
Pan, Newman, & Flynn, 2006). Therefore, the conceptualization of the underlying
dynamics and processes of e-government implementations is clearly desired. This paper
describes an in-depth case research that analyses the implementation process of the e-
government project at Supreme Court Registry Office (SCRO) in South Korea. The study
examines the major events and actions taken to facilitate the e-government implementation
process.
The remainder of the paper is organized as follows: we first review past research on
managing information technology (IT)-enabled organizational transformation and e-
government initiatives, present Cooper and Zmud’s (1990) Technology Diffusion Model,
which was used as an analytical framework for this study, and describe and analyze the SCRO
case. We conclude by highlighting the implications of our study for both research and practice
and by suggesting future research.

2. Theoretical foundation

The rapid development of technology is contributing to the growth of interest in the use of
technology as a powerful tool to enable and aid transformation in organizations (Orlikowski &
Robey, 1991). A review of the existing IS literature reveals a wide range of fundamental
factors that may affect IT-enabled organizational transformation that includes a shared vision
for change (Doz & Prahalad, 1987) to project management practices (Prahalad & Oosterveld,
1999). Besides these factors, prior research has also exhibited several difficulties associated
with IT-enabled organizational transformation (e.g., Child, 1987; Orlikowski, 1993). Despite
340 H.J. Kim et al. / Government Information Quarterly 24 (2007) 338–352

the growing interest in this area, in-depth enquiry into how public sector organizations manage
IT-enabled transformations has remained relatively limited (Tan, Pan, & Lim, 2005). A
possible explanation for the dearth of research interest is the jaundiced impression of public
sector organizations as rigid, risk-averse and having little desire for improvement (Bozman &
Kingsley, 1998). However, despite this unfavorable belief, recent years have witnessed a rush
of the implementation of e-government to re-invent public services using IT (Kawalek &
Wastell, 2005).
Governments try to adapt to today’s fast-moving environment by implementing e-
government (Lovell, 1995). Aicholzer and Schmutzer (2000, p. 379) suggest that “e-
government covers changes of governance in a twofold manner: (1) transformation of the
business of governance—improving service quality delivery, reducing cost, and renewing
administrative processes; (2) transformation of governance itself—re-examining the
functioning of democratic practices and processes. Prior e-government research has
focused on issues such as e-citizenship (Bucy & Gregson, 2001); e-democracy (Coleman,
Taylor, & Van de Donk, 1999); e-legislatures (Coleman et al., 1999); governance in the
information age (Tapscott, Lowy, & Ticoll, 1989); tele-cooperation (Devadoss, Pan, &

Table 1
A six-stage technology diffusion model (adopted from Cooper & Zmud, 1990)
Stage Process Product
Initiation Active and/or passive scanning of A match is found for an IT solution and its
organizational problems/opportunities and application in the organization.
IT solutions are undertaken. Pressure to
change evolves from either organizational
need (pull), technology innovation (push),
or both.
Adoption Rational and political negotiations ensue to A decision is reached to invest the resources
get organizational backing for needed to accommodate the implementation
implementation of the IT application. effort.
Adaptation The IT application is developed, installed, The IT application is available for use in the
and maintained. Organizational procedures organization.
are revised and developed. Organizational
members are trained both in the new
procedures and in the IT application.
Acceptance Organizational members are induced to The IT application is employed in
commit to IT application usage. organizational work.
Routinization Usage of the IT application is encouraged as The organization's governance systems are
a normal activity. adjusted to account for the IT application,
which is no longer perceived as something
out of the ordinary.
Infusion Increased organizational effectiveness is The IT application is used within the
obtained by using the IT application in a organization to its fullest potential.
more comprehensive and integrated manner
to support higher level aspects of
organizational work.
 H.J. Kim et al. / Government Information Quarterly 24 (2007) 338–352 341

Huang, 2002); electronic commerce (Shi, 2002); and a mechanism for crisis management
(Pan, Pan, & Devadoss, 2005), while studies that examine the process of e-government
implementations appear rather limited in comparison (Tan & Pan, 2003; Irani et al., 2006).
In fact, e-government projects can be complicated due to the lack of fundamental structures,
human and technical resources, and the vast size and bureaucratic nature of government
(Pan et al., 2006). As such, these initiatives remain challenging and deserve much more
attention. Due to the frequency of e-government implementations in recent years (World
Bank, 2006), the shortage of such implementation process studies presents a knowledge
gap that needs to be plugged. It is the aim of this paper to narrow this gap in the IS
literature.

2.1. Adopting Cooper and Zmud’s (1990) technology diffusion model as an analytical
framework

To ensure a structured and systematic approach to interpret our data, we adopt Cooper and
Zmud’s (1990) Technology Diffusion Model, which is shown in Table 1. The model identifies
six stages of organizational transformation with IT implementation: initiation, adoption,
adaptation, acceptance, routinization , and infusion. The model helps to develop better
understanding for both IT and organizational issues, during the IT implementation process.
Table 1 explains the model in terms of the process characteristics and product outcomes at
various stages of the implementation process. We adopt this particular analytical framework
because we believe that the model shapes the process of IT-enabled organizational
transformation and is applicable to the kind of technology innovation (e-government) and
adoption context (public sector organization) in this particular research (Cooper & Zmud,
1990).

3. Research approach

Our initiative to undertake an in-depth case study (Yin, 1994; Walsham, 1995) of an e-
government project at SCRO in South Korea proves prudent. The case study approach is
particularly appropriate as it allows us to better capture the organizational dynamics of the
phenomenon (Klein & Myers, 1999). Generally, the use of a case study method is well
supported by previous literature, which suggests that case studies are deemed to be particularly
good for answering the “how” and “why” questions (Yin, 1994). The case study method is
recognized as an appropriate way of empirical inquiry when the complex phenomena to be
studied cannot easily be separated from their organizational contexts (Langley, 1999).
Altogether, 27 semi-structured interviews were conducted with 27 interviewees including staff
from the SCRO, LGCNS (the IT consulting firm), and various registry offices. The interviews
focused on the interviewees’ involvement and actions taken during the project implemen-
tation. On an average, each of these interviews lasted for an hour and a half. Additional sources
of data, including on-site observation and documentation, also provide useful insights to the
project implementation process.
342 H.J. Kim et al. / Government Information Quarterly 24 (2007) 338–352

As the first step to our analysis, the first author uses the interview transcripts to prepare a
detailed case description, containing a summary of the entire implementation process. Major
events that have facilitated the project implementation process are identified and summarized.
We use Cooper and Zmud’s (1990) model as an analytical framework for data analysis. Our
reasons for using this framework are to apply it as “a sensitising devise to view the world in a
certain way” (Klein & Myers, 1999, p.75) and to facilitate the complex analysis of the
implementation of a new technology and the dynamics of organizational transformation (i.e.,
Cule & Robey, 2004). Data have been validated with several individuals who are familiar with
the project’s history. To reduce researchers’ bias, the project information is shown to other
authors who are uninvolved in data collection to identify portions containing stakeholders’
perceptions towards the project and actions taken during the implementation process. The
entire data analysis process has undergone numerous iterations, with each iteration cycle
following the double hermeneutic circle principle to case study development (Klein & Myers,
1999).

4. Case description

4.1. Background

At the time of the research, the SCRO had 49 district registry offices incorporated in the 13
district courts. The core function of SCRO is to manage the nation’s land and residency
registration and related legal issues. Each registry office has three divisions: “Administrative,”
“Correction and Investigation,” and “Public Access.” The Administrative Division provides
application services and serves as a public contact point. The Correction and Investigation
Division evaluates the legitimacy of application documents. Finally, the Public Access
Division handles public requests for registry documents. The rationale behind the initiation of
the e-government project at the SCRO is to provide efficient public services to the citizens.
SCRO aims to achieve three goals: (1) to promote unrestricted and flexible communications
between different governmental agencies; (2) to effectively manage resources by reducing the
cost of communication and coordination; and (3) to improve the public’s perception towards
the government’s operational efficiency. The project team has 30 members, 15 of them
represent the Supreme Court and 15 are from LGCNS (at least in the beginning). The IT
consulting firm is responsible for: the reviewing of SCRO’s existing work practices, the
designing of new processes, the building of a computerized database, the developing of
software programs, and the providing of training to internal users. The e-government system
consists of three major components: “Property Registry Document Application Process
System,” “Document Referencing and Requesting System,” and “Statistical Management
System.” The Property Registry Document Application Process System is used to input
relevant information, such as the purpose of registry document application. The Document
Referencing and Requesting System provides services such as obtaining copies of registry
documents from registry offices. The Statistical Management System provides information
such as the volume and frequency of publics’ requests for services.
 H.J. Kim et al. / Government Information Quarterly 24 (2007) 338–352 343

4.2. The e-government implementation process

The following section presents aspects, related elements, and interview quotes of the e-
government implementation process at SCRO.1

4.3. The changes introduced by the new system

For the Administrative Division, the major changes include the availability of online
services, and the simplification of the application procedures for the registry documents.
Several steps have been taken to simplify the application procedures by reducing the number
of columns and providing clearer terminology in the application forms. For the Correction and
Investigation Division, less time is spent on checking and correcting information written on the
application forms. In addition, the availability of online documentation also saves many hours
of filing and retrieving paper-based documents. For the Public Access Division, the
computerized database has allowed the staff to search, download, and print registry documents
with ease.
Overall, the e-government initiative not only improves the quality of service delivered to the
public, but it also enhances the timeliness and comprehensiveness of information management
across various governmental agencies. For example, an improvement on the coordination of
different governmental agencies has been the implementation of the Statistical Management
System. Basically, the information that is generated from the system will be sent to the
Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs to generate the most updated
demographic information of the nation. The availability of such information would benefit
staff at the Statistic Bureau as it reduces the amount of time required to process, prepare, and
produce the relevant reports. Moreover, policy makers also utilize the information to develop
policies to address demographical changes. When the new online public services are launched,
feedback from the public is highly positive as they appreciate the government’s determination
to provide efficient and convenient public services.

5. Discussion

We adopt Cooper and Zmud’s (1990) model to help us to interpret our data (see Table 2).
Table 2 explains the data in terms of the process characteristics and product outcomes at
various stages of the implementation process: initiation, adoption, adaptation, acceptance,
routinization, and infusion. Interviewees’ quotes are also included in Table 2 to support the
analysis. For example in the initiation stage, the key aspects include understanding the
stakeholders’ requirements and forming a project team which are consistent with SCRO’s
activities in the case.

1
We structure the data containing the e-government implementation process based on Cooper and Zmud’s
model. We have summarized most of the narratives of the e-government implementation into Table 2 due to the
word limit constraint.
344 H.J. Kim et al. / Government Information Quarterly 24 (2007) 338–352
Table 2
Aspects, related elements, and the supporting evidence of the e-government implementation process at SCRO
Stage Aspect
Initiation Evaluate requirements and
generate solutions to address
stakeholders' needs.
Form a steering group.
Form a project team and carry
out initial project analysis.
Adoption Evaluate regulatory issues.
Finalize project plans.
Related element
(1) Recognize the need to
establish a nationwide IT
infrastructure.
(2) Identify inadequacy in
existing information-processing
capacity of SCRO to provide
unrestricted service.
(3) Align new technological
solutions with SCRO's business
processes.
(4) Aim to change SCRO's poor
public image.
(5) Select an outsourcing
vendor.
The purposes are as follows:
(1) to manage the budget;
(2) to facilitate the selection of
the vendor;
(3) to select and form the
project team; and
(4) to support the project team.
(1) Select team members from
two different groups (SCRO
and Supreme Court).
(2) Analyze current business
processes and technology.
(3) Identify needs of the public.
(1) Supreme Court judges are
consulted over the legal
implications of the project.
(2) Project plans are complied
with current regulations.
(1) Assign relevant personnel
with responsibilities based on
their expertise.
(2) Schedule key project
milestones.
(3) Finalize technological
specification.
Exemplar evidence
“It becomes very difficult to
clear the registry
applications. To do all the
work, we need at least 2–3
times of our current
workforce.
The applications simply
keep coming.”
(Source: A registry branch
manager)
“It is frustrating when we are
preparing the summary
reports. It is extremely
difficult to obtain the ‘right’
information. You do not
know who has the documents.
Even if you know, you need
to hunt for the files.
Sometimes, we
look everywhere and yet we
cannot locate them.”
(Source: An administrative
officer at the registry office)
“We have representatives
from various related registry
offices in the system design
team, together with the
external vendor. We try
to anticipate customers'
requirements and include
them in system designs.”
(Source: Chairman from the
project steering group)
“A project of this scale is
difficult. We have to consider
the regulatory issues
involved. To avoid project
delays, proper project
planning and regular progress
reporting are very important.”
(Source: A consultant from
LGCNS)
 H.J. Kim et al. / Government Information Quarterly 24 (2007) 338–352 345

Table 2 (continued)
Stage Aspect
Provide assistance to the project (1) Involve members from the
team.
Adaptation Modify project plan to comply (1) Modify project plan to
with regulations.
Establish the technical
infrastructure. Customize the
systems, and install new
hardware and software.
Inform various stakeholder
groups of the project progress
and manage their expectations. end-users with necessary skills.
Manage operational difficulties. (1) Assess the interdependence
Address unexpected
technological complexity.
Acceptance Impact on organizational
process.
Related element
steering group to attend
monthly project meetings.
(2) Provide regular updates to
steering group about the project
progress.
incorporate new regulations.
(1) Customize the new systems
used in all parts of the SCRO.
(2) Replace and upgrade old
hardware.
(3) Install new software.
(1) Organize training courses
and workshops to equip
(2) Arrange various road shows
to communicate and showcase
the key milestones met by the
project.
(3) Utilize various media
channels to inform the public
about the project's progress.
among individuals' tasks and
the potential impact when one
member's task is delayed.
(2) Standardize the way data
are digitalized.
(1) Evaluate increasing need
for networked systems.
(2) Fulfill the shortage of
technical expertise.
(1) Reduce workload.
(2) Improve work efficiency,
including processing time,
information quality and
accuracy.
(3) Improve access to
information for different
regional offices and branches.
(4) Encourage collective and
mutual learning.
Exemplar evidence
“We have too many
complicated and outdated
documents in the registry
offices which need
organizing and re-designing.”
(Source: A registry branch
manager)
“We face several challenges.
The technical issues include
system infrastructure
problems. Organizational
issues revolve around
managing stakeholders'
expectations.”
(Source: An IT development
manager)
“We set up a feedback
channel to receive feedback
from the users. The
feedbacks are positive
and useful. They are used in
the discussion of how to
fine-tune and improve the
system”
(Source: A system analyst
from LGCNS)
(continued on next page)
346 H.J. Kim et al. / Government Information Quarterly 24 (2007) 338–352

Table 2 (continued)
Stage Aspect
Users' perceptions.
Routinization Routinize the new system
and process.
Infusion Achieve outcomes.
Continuous extension of
innovation.
Add new technologies to
existing infrastructure.
Related element Exemplar evidence
(1) Employees see the
usefulness of the project
because of the reduced
workload, and the benefit of a
centralized database.
(2) Employees agree that the “The knowledge warehouse
public services have improved can store the process
significantly. knowledge that specific
agencies have used to create
task execution standards,
and operational knowledge.”
(1) Provide training sessions for
users.
(2) Increase ability in the (Source: A registry assistant
back-office personnel to use the branch manager)
new system to produce
graphical reports in addition to
the standard ones that they have
learned from the basic training
courses.
(3) Sharing of experience “At meetings, each registry
between users through informal representative reflects the
interactions. ideas of his/her branch
office.”
(4) The time required to process (Source: A project manager
a document is reduced from from LGCNS)
several minutes to a few
seconds.
(1) Increase information- “Similar to many other
processing capability. projects in the public sector,
(2) Improve work process you could never see where it
integration between different is ending. Since we have
divisions. started the system, we have
(3) Policy-makers benefit from been systematically trying
the timeliness, to include as many services
comprehensiveness and as possible online. Hopefully
accuracy of information. we can eventually move
(4) Different information towards being paperless—
channels are available to which is our ultimate goal.”
SCRO's employees and the
public.
(1) Continuous improvement of
public services.
(2) Enhance capability by using
up-to-date technology.
Establish an Internet platform. (Source: The project
manager)
 H.J. Kim et al. / Government Information Quarterly 24 (2007) 338–352 347

5.1. Alignment of technology and business processes enhances the establishment of strategic
directions in governments

Traditionally, public sector organizations are viewed as rigid establishments, with poor
service quality and inefficient operations (Moon & Bretschneider, 2002). However, many
citizens are becoming increasingly demanding on improved public services. This forces
governments to re-think their existing modes of operation to establish new strategic
initiatives—an evolutionary step viewed by many as unavoidable for the survival of public
sector operation in today’s fast-moving and competitive environment (Moon, 2002). By
accurately analyzing the environment and evaluating existing capabilities, governments can
develop strategic foresights (Ho, 2002). Furthermore, experts also suggest that leveraging
technology as a resource and better alignment between technology and business processes
would help to achieve sustainable competitive advantage for organizations in the long run
(Jarvenpaa & Leidner, 1998).
In the Initiation stage of the e-government implementation (refer to Table 2), SCRO
recognizes the need to establish a nationwide IT infrastructure so that it is able to provide
efficient public services to its citizens. SCRO’s strategy is to align technology with its business
processes so that it could promote unrestricted and flexible communications and coordinations
between the registry offices and the public. Furthermore, since the adoption of e-government
has become popular (World Bank, 2006), this tends to raise public sectors’ awareness and
heighten their sensitivity to the e-government adoption phenomenon. As a result, governments
are forced to search for technological solutions in their management and operation practices
(Devadoss et al., 2002). Similarly in the case of SCRO, the organization relies on e-
government to address the inadequacy in its existing information-processing capacity and to
reduce the cost of communication and coordination among its governmental agencies. With
the pressure to ensure the success of the e-government initiative, SCRO integrates many public
services and shifts them online—an important step to move the organization towards a
“citizen-focused” public sector organization (Ho, 2002).

5.2. Integration of resources into core business activities enhances adoption of e-government
initiative

Inefficient resource management has been the main hurdle to the formation of a customer-
centric movement within public sector organizations (Rainey, 1990). As citizens continue to
demand for consolidated public services in a timely and convenient way (World Bank, 2006),
better integration of resources into core business activities can develop the capacity to initiate
and accept changes within public sector organizations (Pan et al., 2005). Besides, prior
research also reveals that to implement new strategic initiatives, resources must be sufficiently
and appropriately integrated with organizations’ key business activities (Hamel & Prahalad,
1994). To institutionalize a new strategic initiative, organizations must embrace the strategy by
integrating the necessary changes within daily organizational activities (Hamel & Prahalad,
1994). Knowledge must spread throughout the organization and be retained within the
organization so as to support the new initiative (Lovell, 1995).
348 H.J. Kim et al. / Government Information Quarterly 24 (2007) 338–352

In the adoption, adaptation, and acceptance stages of the e-government implementation

(refer to Table 2), SCRO allocates its resources appropriately to ensure that the organization
maintains its focus on essential aspects when executing the new e-government initiative. For
example, SCRO assigns relevant personnel with responsibilities based on their expertise and
provide regular updates to the steering group about the project progress. Being alert to
feedbacks of warning signs helps organizations to avoid investing further resources into a
particular failing course of action (Pan et al., 2006). In addition, SCRO integrates its resources
into the core business activities by establishing the technical infrastructure, organizing training
courses to equip users with necessary operational skills, informing the public about the
usefulness of the new system, and standardizing the digitalization of data to speed up data
input. Such close integration is important since public organizations possess limited resources
and cannot attend to all actual or potential claims (Ho, 2002). Besides, an efficient allocation of
organizational resources to cater to the requirements of stakeholders can enhance the adoption
and acceptance of a new strategic initiative (Tan et al., 2005).

5.3. Integration of stakeholders’ trust and commitment enhances the institutionalization of

e-government initiative

To conduct effective change management program, procedures must be in place to

overcome organizational inertia and reduce conflicts that may arise when new initiatives are
being implemented (Pan et al., 2006). One possible way is through better integration of
stakeholders’ trust and commitment which can institutionalize a strategic initiative (Hamel &
Prahalad, 1994). In the routinization and infusion stages of the e-government implementation
process (refer to Table 2), SCRO provides several facilities to encourage users to utilize the
new system. For example, they have their workload reduced; they get to attend training
sessions; and they capitalize on the free-flow of information sharing between users. It is noted
that the sharing of experiences is important since exchanging ideas through shared narratives
of individual experiences would contribute to the development of a strategic initiative (Lovell,
1995). Nevertheless, unlike previous transformational efforts in public sector organizations
that face individual resistance and organizational inertia (i.e., Robey & Sahay, 1996), the
incentives provided by SCRO help to gain stakeholders’ trust and commitment. Users
recognize the usefulness of the new system through reduced workload and the benefits of a
centralized database. This is important towards institutionalizing the new system since
effective management of collaborative relationships between the stakeholders allows a high
level of commitment and close integration (Day, 1994). Overall, the new e-government system
manages to attain stakeholders’ trust and commitment which helps to transform SCRO into a
client-focus organization.

5.4. Better understanding of the role of organizational learning enhances stakeholders’

acceptance towards e-government initiative

Lyytinen and Robey (1999) link the effectiveness of organizational learning to IT project
development success and failure. Robey and Boudreau (1999) also highlight the relevance
 H.J. Kim et al. / Government Information Quarterly 24 (2007) 338–352 349

of organizational learning by suggesting that contradictions inherent within IT implemen-

tation can be resolved through sound learning practices. The evidence gathered in the e-
government implementation process at SCRO (refer to Table 2) also indicates the significant
role played by organizational learning in enhancing stakeholders’ acceptance towards the e-
government initiative. For instance, collective and mutual learning at the acceptance stage of
the e-government implementation have enhanced stakeholders’ consensus towards the new
initiative. This is because by maintaining a shared understanding, project stakeholders are
emotionally attached to the project (Lembke & Wilson, 1998). Furthermore, organizational
learning is a cyclical process, where experience accumulation from existing routines leads to
knowledge articulation and the tacit accumulation of experience leads to institutionalization
of the strategic initiative (Day, 1994).
It is important for organizations to be aware of the activities that promote learning during
project implementation. For example in the case study of SCRO, the practice of experiential
learning at the routinization stage, which embeds learning within everyday tasks, proves useful
in gaining wider acceptance towards the system since the new system is fully applied and
embedded into organizational practices. Furthermore, the data warehouse created in SCRO
proves essential for knowledge retention, especially with regards to the tacit intellectual capital
possessed by employees in the event of employee turnover that is subsequently stored in the
company’s knowledge repository.

6. Conclusions and implications

This paper describes and analyzes the experience of the implementation of e-government at
the Supreme Court Registry Office in South Korea. The inherent limitation of a single case
study notwithstanding, this study has offered insights into the transformational experience of
SCRO from an inefficient governmental agency to an improved public sector organization
which provides efficient public services. The study adopts interviews and documentations as
the key data collection instruments and explores a diversity of implementation issues within
the e-government initiative.
The findings of the SCRO, as presented, provide major research and practical implications.
For researchers, this paper makes a contribution by providing a processual perspective on the
way an e-government project is implemented in a public sector organization. Though previous
studies have identified several IT-enabled organizational transformational efforts, little is
known about the actual implementation practice of e-government projects by governments—
an area which deserves much more attention (Irani et al., 2006) as several governments race to
adopt technology as powerful means to enable and aid transformation in their organizations
(World Bank, 2006). Furthermore, this study also makes a novel contribution to e-government
literature by extending existing knowledge based on the application of the Cooper and Zmud’s
(1990) model as an analytical framework in an e-government context. We believe that the
model offers a vocabulary for framing experiences and learning of potential e-government
initiatives. The case data in this study, their alignment with our proposed model (i.e., Cooper &
Zmud, 1990), help to demonstrate the analytical capability of the model. However, future
350 H.J. Kim et al. / Government Information Quarterly 24 (2007) 338–352

research should seek to formulate more generalizable explanations as to why certain sequences
lead to certain outcomes, or more specifically, why certain interventions during the six stages
of IT diffusion, lead either to success or failure. An interesting avenue for future research is to
attempt to contextualize the framework using a case study or even multiple case studies which
could perhaps provide stronger analytical power. In addition, we believe that the findings from
this study could be validated in other cultural contexts. One direction for future research would
be to replicate this study across various disparate cultures. For example, while South Korea is
on the low end of Hofstedt’s (1991) uncertainty avoidance index, Western cultures such as the
United Kingdom, is at the higher end. According to an earlier IT project implementation study
(i.e., Keil et al., 2000), the level of uncertainty avoidance affects how projects are
implemented, in particular, how project managers perceive project risk. Thus, an obvious
extension of the study is to replicate this study in high uncertainty avoidance cultures to
determine whether the results obtained in South Korea still hold.
For practitioners, this study is important because an e-government implementation is likely
to involve many phases. Understanding these key stages is essential for managing the e-
government initiative. Furthermore, managers should not confine the involvement of
stakeholders to only the design and development phases. Engaging stakeholders after system
rollout would enable managers to correctly assess stakeholders’ overall acceptance of the
system, and the feedback gathered could form the basis of continual improvement to the
system. For this reason, it is important to have sufficient and effective means of
communication between various stakeholders. Finally, regardless to how successfully a
public sector organization is transformed, it is important to continue to generate an effective
learning environment, as individual organizational member feels comfortable with new
knowledge to be put into practice. By following the various stages of e-government
implementation, this study highlights the importance of technology as an enabling mechanism
that incorporates and revolves around many organizational issues. This recognition not only
stresses the importance of choosing the best strategy for deciding what particular IT to adopt,
but it also underlines the need to take into account organizational issues from the start of the
implementation. Finally in this paper, we have used only retrospective data. There is a lack of
real-time longitudinal data that directly examines the other considerations made during the
implementation process. Future research could perhaps attempt to address this gap so as to
unravel new issues surrounding the e-government implementation process.

Acknowledgment

This work has been supported by INHA UNIVERSITY Research Grant. (INHA-33921-01)

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