1 Intergovernmental IT Collaboration: CPD (IPCS) Case in South Korea June 29, 2011 Changsoo Song & Byeong-Cheon Hwang University of Nebraska at Omaha & Korea Local Information R&D Institute

2 Outline Introduction Theoretical Background Methodology Case Description Findings Implications

3 Introduction Problems with IT Adoption in Governments –Fragmented and/or disjointed IT adoption –Budget waste from redundant system development –Limited IT collaboration among state and local governments Research Practices –Numerous studies on IT adoption & on e-government –Many studies on collaboration through IT & some studies on collaboration through e-government –Few studies on intergovernmental collaboration for efficient and cost-effective IT adoption Purpose of the Study –Investigate an intergovernmental IT collaboration (collaboration for efficient and cost-effective IT adoption among governments) case in South Korea

4 Input Initial conditions Antecedents, etc. Process Governance Structure Administration (Implementation), etc. Output Oucomes Accountability, etc. Contingencies or Constraints Institutional logics Power imbalance, etc. Theoretical Background Note: Adapted from Thomson and Perry (2006) and Bryson at el. (2006) Critical Issues (Elements) of Collaboration

5 Methodology Case Study –A single case study with an interpretive approach –Seeking to discover the manifest interaction of significant factors of the phenomenon and capture various patterns that other research approaches might overlook. Data Collection –Formal and/or informal government documents –Workshop memorandums –Interviews with public officials in charge of the collaboration Data Analysis –A deductive content analysis, using MAXQDA2007 –Drawing on the critical collaboration components as guided by the theoretical framework in the previous slide

6 Description of the CPD Initiative Background –Demand for efficient and cost-effective IT adoption among state and local governments in South Korea –Need for intergovernmental collaboration to meet the demand Implementation –Collaboration of the central government, a non-government organization, and state and local governments for sharing system development information across governments –Collaboration through Information Project pre-Consultation System (IPCS) to review IT projects of state and local governments Performance –9,831 IT projects (2.44 billion dollars) by the end of 2010 –1,661 Conditional Approvals and 362 Deferrals to avoid redundancy and to adopt IT through customization

7 Business Departments IT Department IPCS Stakeholders Business Departments IT Department Central Government State or Local Governments IPCS

8 Findings Inputs: Initial Conditions, Antecedents, etc. –Political agreements and economic motivations –Legal and technological infrastructure Process: Governance Structure, etc –A strong leadership from the central government (Top-down approach in implementing the IT collaboration) –Complexity caused by organizational differences –Power issues between the central government and state/local governments and between business departments and the IT department within the state/local government –Issues about procedures, roles, and responsibilities –Issues on building norms and values

9 Findings (Cont.) Output: Outcomes and Accountability, etc –Excessive focus on preventing redundancy (budget waste) –Limited collaboration quality caused by missing or incomplete inputs (information uploads and updates) from state and local governments (especially business departments) –Ownership and cost issues causing limited utilization of IPCS for adopting existing (best) systems through customization Constraints or Contingencies –Institutional logics: Local autonomy vs. central authority –Arguments about top-down vs. bottom-up approaches –Imbalance between collective vs. self interest –Perceived power shift (Fear of losing power or control) –Technical Issues (Lack of expertise)

10 Discussion Implications from the CPD (IPCS) Case –Have legal and technological infrastructure in place –Establish a strong leadership (clarify the role of the central government) –Be ready to justify the role of central government (if local autonomy is constitutionally supported) –Promote not only collective interest but also self-interest –Establish role and responsibilities of stakeholders in a clear and practical manner and legalize them –Incorporate the IT collaboration into general IRM efforts in order to reinforce its norms and values –Minimize technical difficulties in order to maximize the utilization of collaboration system –Consider not only top-down but also bottom-up approaches for better practice

11 Discussion (Cont.) Limitations of the Study –Investigation of only one case –Insufficient description of Korean contexts –Retrospective approach Future Research Direction –Need to investigate and compare with different IT collaboration (intergovernment collaboration for efficient or cost-effective IT adoption) cases across the countries for more robust implications

12 Questions, comments or thoughts?