Title: The journey from e-government to digital transformation: the case of Saudi Arabia

Authors: Sotirios Zygiaris; Bassem E. Maamari

Addresses: Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University, College of Business Administration, Al Aziziyah Highway, Al-Khobar, 31952, KSA ' Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University, College of Business Administration, Al Aziziyah Highway, Al-Khobar, 31952, KSA

Abstract: The e-government implementation process in the world is at various stages with some countries having a pronounced success. The governments with a greater degree of success are subject to the second stage of evolution known as digital government. In the digital government stage, organisations carry on internal service improvement in an attempt to change cultural impulses. The purpose of this study is to analyse the transition process from e-government to digital government in Saudi Arabia. We aim to identify the factors that would enable this transition. The findings of our study illustrate that in the journey from e-government to digital government there are four important enabling factors, namely technology adequacy, organisational change, open government and social inclusive government. The study provides a researcher's view of the factors that will lead a digital transformation process in government to incorporate internal socio-technical physiognomies that will promote a responsive, proactive, open and social government.

Keywords: electronic government; digital government; open government; social inclusive government; transition process; structural equation modelling; SEM; Saudi Arabia; government transformation; e-services; technology adequacy; organisational change.

DOI: 10.1504/EG.2023.127578

Electronic Government, an International Journal, 2023 Vol.19 No.1, pp.95 - 111

Received: 28 Jun 2020
Accepted: 02 May 2021
Published online: 12 Dec 2022 *