A Study of the Determinants of County E-Government in the United States

Abstract

As governments rapidly adopt information and communication technologies to improve their service delivery, the study of e-government has emerged as an important area of research in public administration. Researchers have studied various aspects of e-government, including the factors associated with its adoption at state and municipals levels. Literature provides limited information related specifically to counties’ adoption of e-government in the United States, and although some researchers have studied the effect of institutional and contextual factors in particular states, none have studied their influence on counties nationwide. Based on a survey of county administrators primarily responsible for e-government services and a content analysis of counties’ official websites, this research examines the role of institutional, contextual, and socioeconomic factors on e-government adoption at the county level in the United States.