E-Government systems in South Africa: An infoculture perspective

The purpose of this study was to investigate challenges surrounding e-Government systems in South Africa and their origins. Based on interviews with senior managers/senior state administrators as the key method and on qualitative data analysis, challenges were identified within the cultural environment of the senior managers, their positioning in relation to e-Government systems, organizational processes, and in the policy domain. A specialized cultural analysis based on the informing culture framework was applied in order to deepen understanding of the challenges' origins. It revealed a hybrid of an immature bureaucracy and a mature clan informing culture as deep-seated aspects of the socio-organizational context surrounding South African e-Government systems. The contributions of this research are in advancing theorizing on e-Government and in helping the senior managers/senior state administrators to develop a better understanding of the cultural environment that they are expected to work in.