Thoughts on e-government

Purpose - While private companies have continued to take advantage of information and communications technology to improve their businesses, services offered by government organisations have remained deficient over the years. Aims to provide an introduction to the papers within the journal issue which focus on this theme. Design/methodology/approach - Provides an outline of the themes of the papers. Findings - Notes that in seven the papers, contexts and problems associated with change instigated by e-government initiatives are explored. These relate to the intersection of theory, method, empirical findings and novel systems. They discuss practices, methods and barriers associated with the challenge of realising the vision of e-government. Originality/value - Provides an introduction to the papers on e-government, an evolving multidimensional and multidisciplinary field, where many mutually interdependent factors impact on its success, acceptance and perceived benefits.