Citizen Relationship Management and E-government

Recent policy initiatives have advocated a Citizen Relationship Management (CzRM) strategy in conjunction with e-government to respond to the challenges facing public agencies. CzRM promises higher service quality at lower costs. CzRM was originally a private sector business strategy, part of the "entrepreneurial" paradigm that was applied to the public sector in the mid-1990s. This paper deals with four concerns: the assertion that transformation of citizens into customers has damaging effects on democratic governance and public administration; the existence of digital divides; accountability-issues; and the role of consultants as intermediaries. Finally, the change in citizens' wants and views about government may be caused by more fundamental changes happening in the American society. Despite the mentioned concerns, CzRM is feasible, but it should occur with an awareness of the raison d'etre of the public sector, and that government has a role in securing both the quality and equality of government services.