Understanding the Co-Evolution of Institutions, Technology, and Organizations: The Enactment of the State Government Portal of Puebla

Luis F. Luna-Reyes and J. Ramon Gil-Garcia
June 17, 2013

Abstract

Proceedings of the 14th Annual International Conference on Digital Government Research (dg.o2013), Mon, 17 Jun 2013.

Until recently, researchers and practitioners around the world thought that information technologies could by themselves transform government organizations. However, current studies show that there are complex relationships between information technologies, organizations, and institutions. This paper presents a preliminary theory of the co-evolution of organizational networks, institutional frameworks and technology in the development of state government portals. The theoryuses the grammars of system dynamics and builds upon institutional approaches to understand interactions among all these factors in the development of information and communication technologies in government. The preliminary theory shows the relevance of networks and relations to successful portal development.Moreover, institutionalization of work practices and methods appears to be also an important success factor, and there are several interactions among the variables identified.

[Recipient of Best Research Paper Award, dgo2013]