Research in e-Government in Emerging Economies: Evolution and Future Trends

E-Government is considered a relevant issue on political agendas that seek to transform and modernize public administration. This recent interest in e-Government has been reflected in the large amount of research studies and projects reported in diverse academic disciplines and journals, with various methodologies used by researchers. However, the vast majority of research has focused on developed countries, neglecting the analysis and evaluation of the development of e-Government in emerging economies. This article provides a starting point that can help public administrators and researchers to evaluate this research field, identifying the research topics, research methodologies used in the studies published in international journals, universities that published major contributions, as well as future research opportunities. For this purpose, we carried out a bibliometric study that analyzes international journals with higher impact (Journal Citation Reports) contained in the fields of Information Science and Library Science, and Public Administration. This review process included the analysis of the articles in 44 journals published between January 2000 and September 2010. This analysis aims to highlight potential opportunities for e-Government research on emerging economies, making a comparison with research conducted on developed countries, allowing us to indicate the way forward in advancing the implementation of e-Government, as believe that a thorough analysis of the past will enable us to prepare for the future. In this regard, studies on emerging economies emphasize the use of research methodologies in very early stage, mainly focused on determining the current state of the experiences and initiatives of e-Government, awareness of the role of new technologies to encourage citizen participation and improving the quality and accessibility of public services. The research should help public managers and policy makers in the plans for implementation of e-Government, making them understand that environmental factors influence the innovation of public administrations. To this end; policies should be analyzed making processes of e-Government in a complex political environment, getting to strengthen the connection between e-Government and the traditional concerns of public administration.