E-government success: some principles from a Spanish case study

Purpose - This paper has as its aim to analyse the evolution and current status of e-government, trying to deduce a series of basic principles for its success. Design/methodology/approach - A case study has served to achieve that aim, but prior to its presentation, a short review of the e-government literature along with some facts and figures have made it possible to assess the situation of e-government in various countries around the world, and more precisely in Spain. Findings - E-government lays emphasis on technology; however, the internal processes through which public administrations (PP.AA) offer their services to citizens need careful reengineering. Research limitations/implications - Although a case study like this one, in which the analysis of e-government is restricted to the functioning of a tax administration body, may have limitations when it comes to generalising the conclusions drawn, the principles inferred from it can be easily extrapolated to the vast majority of PP.AA. Originality/value - Since, tax administration requires using a large amount of data, it is a key area in the application and study of e-government. That is why a Spanish public Organisation in charge of tax administration has been examined in this paper.