Challenges of interorganizational collaboration for information technology adoption: Insights from a governmental financial decision-making process in Egypt

The study identified a number of organizational and interorganizational problems such as difficulties in tracking and documenting the decision-making process within and across government agencies and shows the significance of intercollaboration barriers and the need to be considered seriously in any e-government project.

Abstract

This article demonstrates the importance of collaboration between government departments as a backbone for interorganizational integration between agencies. It argues that the challenges related to information technology adoption in developing countries can be partially attributed to the lack of standard collaboration practices between government agencies. A case of a foreign financing decision-making process in Egypt was used as an example of a government process in which there was close collaboration between government agencies. The study identified a number of organizational and interorganizational problems such as difficulties in tracking and documenting the decision-making process across different departments within and across government agencies. It also shows the significance of intercollaboration barriers and the need to be considered seriously in any e-government project. The study results can be used by practitioners looking for best practices in the area of e-government development. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.