Urban E-Government Initiatives and Environmental Decision Performance in Korea

Although e-government initiatives have been credited as enginesof government reform, empirical evidence is insufficient todetermine their effects on public sector performance. To explorethe impact of e-government on local governance, this articleexamines how e-government initiatives influence the perceivedperformance of environmental decision making in an urban contextand what organizational and contextual factors affect Web-aideddecision performance. Data were collected from the content analysisof city government Web sites and a nationwide survey of cityofficials in Korea. Findings from path analysis show that (1)information technology leadership of senior management and Website quality are key to decision intelligence, quality, andspeed and (2) e-government Web divide, a gap in the capabilityof city Web sites to support public service delivery and democraticinteraction, translates into disparities in environmental decisionperformance across cities. Additionally, environmental activismis a significant factor shaping the impact of e-government onenvironmental decision making. E-government initiatives contributeto local governance performance, but their impacts vary, dependingon Web site quality and the entrepreneurial leadership of publicmanagers.