Core – competencies – a key to future – oriented and sustainable e-governance implementation: a mixed method research

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to empirically identify the themes of core-competencies required for future-oriented and sustainable e-governance practices, especially across the developing nations. Design/methodology/approach The present study has been conducted using the sequential mixed method research wherein the exploratory qualitative study is first carried out with the government officials involved in e-governance implementation across India to identify the themes of core-competencies. The findings of this exploratory study are then empirically tested with the 359 respondents from Group A and Group B officers of the two government departments in India using partial least square technique. Findings The findings suggested that to ensure the implementation of future-oriented and sustainable e-governance, it is required to develop the core-competencies. The significant core-competencies explored are, namely, process management, employee engagement, internal service quality, external service quality, citizen satisfaction, leadership, culture and technology. Research limitations/implications As strategic implementation of e-governance is a relatively new area of study, the present study has used the learning from core-competencies studies in the non-government sector. Practical implications The findings of this study underscore the need for strategic implementation of e-governance to have long-term success of e-governance. The requirement is to develop the core-competencies. These core-competencies are the key to making the government departments proactive in dealing with any future contingency without compromising on the departmental performance. Originality/value The present research is one of the few research studies focusing on the implementation of sustainable and future-oriented e-governance. The current study has laid the stepping stone for investigating the role of core-competencies to ensure the implementation of sustainable and future-oriented e-governance.