Page 1
Interorganizational attention network in the diffusion of innovative e-Government practices Ines Mergel Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Administration, Syracuse University eMail: iamergel@maxwell.syr.edu Alexandra Sonja Collm
1 Institute for Public Services and Tourism University of St.Gallen eMail: alexandra.collm@unisg.ch Abstract In this paper, we analyze the informal interorganizational attention network among municipal CIOs in the diffusion of innovative e-Government practices. Our findings suggest that the diffusion of innovations is linked to the communication among municipal CIOs to explain the status of e-Government adoption among all municipalities. In order to exchange knowledge and to become aware of innovations we found that the CIOs are using their informal interorganizational network ties. The CIOs do not only reach out to those municipalities that they perceive to be innovative, but also to those that are easy to access in the same region. The informal network relationships help to spread standards and acceptance of new e-Government applications and technologies. We will present an overview of our first findings at the IRSPM conference. Keywords: Informal networks, attention network, e-Government, diffusion of innovation This paper was prepared for presentation at the 14th annual conference of the International Research Society for Public Management (IRSPM) at the University of Berne, Switzerland, April 7-9, 2010.
1 Visiting research fellow at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University.
Page 2
-----------DRAFT – DO NOT CITE WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE AUTHORS-----------
2
1. Introduction The diffusion of innovative e-Government practices in times of economic crisis and shrinking budgets is especially challenging on the local government level. In our study we use e-Government practices in a broader sense and include ICT-supported interactions of government with citizens and other stakeholders (see for example Greisler & Stupak, 2006; Schedler et al., 2004). Individual municipal governments often lack the infrastructure and resources needed to implement e-Government innovations. In times of crisis agencies are forced to accomplish more tasks with fewer resources and are therefore hesitant to innovate without knowing the consequences.
Public managers use a variety of information sources to prepare decisions about e-Government adoption (Kraemer & Danziger, 1993). This is especially true for the local level where many different actors have an impact on the decision to implement e-Government innovations (Gil-Garcia & Martinez-Moyano, 2007). As a result, studies have shown that the diffusion of e-Government practices in the public sector spreads incrementally on the local level (West, 2005). Lately, several authors state that e-Government is introduced by innovators and early adopters to the overall system (Brown, 2007; Jagodic et al., 2009; Reddick, 2004, 2009). However, there is there is little knowledge on how ICT is diffusing from innovators to late adopters and what mechanisms or factors influence the diffusion process within the complex vertical and hierarchical system in the public sector.
To understand how these diffusion processes occur, we are using a social network approach to analyze the informal information-sharing network among municipal CIOs in Switzerland. Based on the existing diffusion of innovation literature our assumption is that
Page 3
-----------DRAFT – DO NOT CITE WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE AUTHORS-----------
3
diffusion of innovative e-Government practices takes place incrementally through a complex network of formal and informal relationships across agencies.
In the public sector, the network term is used in many different forms and can be understood as an umbrella term for collaboration, communication and resource exchange across organizational boundaries (for an overview and critique of the concept see Isett et al., forthcoming). The public sector literature does not necessarily distinguish between formal and informal network ties. Instead, most studies are focusing on formal ties that are characterized by a high degree of formalization in form of Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) exchanges of services, and a clear hierarchy in the relationships and dependencies.
In contrast, informal network ties – the type of ties we are focusing on in this study – are not characterized by binding agreements, but highlight channels that are infrequently activated to exchange information, request support or feedback outside the hierarchical reporting structure (Krackhardt & Hanson, 1993; Rogers, 2003, 2005). For the purpose of our study, we define informal networks as ties among public sector employees or public managers outside the formal reporting structure to exchange information about innovative e-Government practices.
Studies that explain imitation through network ties argue that actors tend to imitate those who are proximate to them, either geographically or in their interaction frequency (Burt, 1987; Galaskiewicz & Wasserman, 1989). The first results show a tight-knit – although sporadically used - network of information sharing among municipal CIOs to exchange best practices information, as well as a hub-spoke network highlighting a hierarchy of attention towards those agencies considered as high performers. In this paper, we will first discuss the diffusion of innovative e-Government practices; highlight the main drivers of their adoption,
Page 4
-----------DRAFT – DO NOT CITE WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE AUTHORS-----------
4
as well as the distinctive differences of potential adopters. We will then talk about the role that informal inter-organizational network ties among adopters might play in the public sector. After that we present our methodology and discuss the findings in the light of the existing literature.
2. Theoretical Background The diffusion process is defined as "the process by which an innovation is communicated through certain channels over time among the members of a social system" (E. Katz et al., 1958; Rogers, 1995:5). This describes a special type of communication in which the communication among the subjects is concerned with new ideas for organizational practices; it denotes the flow or movement, sometimes also called "spread," of an innovation from a source to an adopter by means of communication and information dissemination (Strang & Soule, 1998:266). In the literature, the terms adoption and diffusion are oftentimes used synonymously. Diffusion studies have a long history in different research fields: Classic studies include Ryan & Gross’s (1943) analysis of the diffusion of hybrid corn, Hargerstrand’s (1967) study of the diffusion of the telephone and tests for tuberculosis involving the destruction of cattle in rural Sweden, and the findings of Coleman et al. (1966) about the diffusion of drug prescriptions among physicians in US cities. These studies are focused on the spread of an innovation through communication channels, the role of mass media and professional change agents, and interpersonal interactions among the adopters.
Rogers extracts the following key elements of the classical diffusion of innovations model from his overview of the diffusion research studies in the last millennium (Rogers, 1976:292):
Page 5
-----------DRAFT – DO NOT CITE WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE AUTHORS-----------
5
- Innovation, defined as an idea, practice, or object that an actor or any other relevant adoption unit (for example, an organization) perceived as being innovative and beneficial to adopt or include into its organizational routines; - Communication, the process by which participants create and share information with one another in order to reach a mutual understanding. This is a process of convergence (or divergence) that occurs as two or more individuals exchange information in order to move toward each other (or apart from each other) in the meanings that they give to certain events (Rogers & Kincaid, 1981); - Using certain communication channels as the means through which knowledge about an innovation is conveyed and may influence the adoption rate; - Over time refers to the sequence or speed of adoption by potential users and is represented by the steepness of the adoption curve; the timeline begins after the development stage and depicts the number of adoptions per designated time-unit until the point at which the highest number of adoptions in a single time unit peaks and begins to steadily decline. The curve that typically manifested itself in most diffusion studies reviewed by Rogers (1995) was the S-shaped distribution curve; - Among the members of a social system: the social system is defined as a set of interrelated units that are engaged in joint problem solving to accomplish a goal. The interrelated units must consist of individuals or groups organized according to accepted structures and norms. Rogers (1995:37) noted that the social system or communication structure of a system facilitates (or impedes) the diffusion of innovations in the system. Three different dimensions can be distinguished in the adoption and diffusion of an innovation: a) process and contextual factors; b) characteristics differentiating earlier from later adopters, and c) the structure of the networks of adopters and how it affects the sequence in which adoption occurs (Rogers, 1995). Whether or not actors adopt innovations can be identified as a function of the social context in which they are embedded (Burt, 1987). The spread of innovations through social network ties is one of the most dominant and yet seldom studied phenomena in the adoption of e-Government practices.
End of preview.
