When digitalisation enhances public (in)efficiency Open Access

The Italian Government initiated the “Digital Agenda Public Sector” program through Decree Law 83/2012, subsequently integrating elements from Decree Law 90/2014. This initiative aims to digitise and modernise central and local public administrations, empowering municipalities to adopt e-government tools that enhance service delivery to citizens. In 2015, 193 United Nations member countries, with the support of the UN General Assembly, adopted the 2030 Agenda, which comprises 17 comprehensive goals and 169 specific targets addressing environmental, economic, social, and institutional dimensions aimed for accomplishment by 2030. Among these objectives, Goal 9 emphasises the necessity to “build resilient infrastructure, promote innovation, and foster equitable, responsible, and sustainable industrialisation.” Italy’s Digital Agenda 2030 project is aligned with this goal by focusing on the modernisation and digitisation of public administration at both the central and local levels. The use of technology in the context of New Public Management (NPM) reforms is essential for enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of public services (Alford and Hughes, 2008). Technology is crucial in helping public organisations adopt NPM principles such as transparency, accountability, and performance measurement (Acemoglu, 2003; Alford and Hughes, 2008). Consequently, when properly employed, technologies facilitate efficiency and public value creation (Malodia et al., 2021; Zhang and Kimathi, 2022), while when not used correctly, they destroy public value (Cui and Osborne, 2023).

Agostino et al. (2021) noted that the COVID-19 pandemic catalysed the digital transformation of public service delivery. Consequently, several European Governments have introduced the concept of digital government transformation into the local public sector entities, which seeks a more nuanced understanding of this transition (Tangi et al., 2021; Curtis, 2019; Mergel et al., 2019), highlighting the “cultural, organisational, and relational changes” occurring within public entities (Mergel et al., 2019, p. 12). Furthermore, in September 2024, the Italian Government introduced a proposal to incorporate artificial intelligence into public administration, streamlining processes and enhancing citizen services. More than a decade after the initial law’s inception, it is pertinent to investigate whether municipalities have successfully adopted e-government systems and how these changes have transformed relationships between local governments and their stakeholders, particularly citizens. The literature presents varying definitions of e-government. Silcock (2001, p. 88) described it as the “use of technology to enhance access to and delivery of government services to benefit citizens, business partners, and employees.”

In contrast, Esteves and Joseph (2008, pp. 118–119) defined e-government as “the delivery of services to citizens via the Internet,” with a focus on leveraging the electronic economy (e-economy). Therefore, embracing a clear definition of e-government is essential to prevent misunderstandings (Twizeyimana and Andersson, 2019; Adjei-Bamfo et al., 2019). In this paper, e-government is defined as the “use of technology, particularly web-based Internet applications, to enhance access to and delivery of government information and services to citizens, business partners, employees, other agencies, and government entities,” or as “the continuous optimisation of service delivery, constituency participation, and governance by transforming internal and external relationships through technology, the Internet, and new media” (Pina et al., 2010, p. 371). In essence, e-government facilitates the provision of information and services via the Internet or other digital platforms. In particular, the present study focuses on the relationship between these platforms and the citizens of municipalities who request services for commercial activities (Lin et al., 2011).

The preponderant consensus among academics and institutions is that e-government can bridge the gap between public administration (PA) and citizens by establishing a new relational model (Bélanger and Carter, 2008; Anthopoulos et al., 2016). This model relies on a more open administrative system, fostering increased citizen engagement in public affairs and enhancing accessibility to public services, interactions, and accountability (Bertot et al., 2012).

In alignment with this concept, Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) are crucial in rebuilding citizens’ trust in public action while promoting transparency, cost-effectiveness, and political participation. According to Mutz and Flemming (1999), the extent to which citizens feel psychologically and informatively connected to their government reflects public trust in institutions. They argue that “the perceived distance about the information gap between the public and government appears to be one of the major elements that have led to the decline of public trust in government” (Mutz and Flemming, 1999, p. 80). The Internet has transformed traditional hierarchical, linear, and one-way communication patterns, facilitating a more dynamic interaction between governments and citizens. Despite the increased attention on IT implementation in the public sector, scholars have focused on studies of successful cases (Welch et al., 2005; Belanger and Carter, 2012; Wirtz and Daiser, 2018; Malodia et al., 2021). Therefore, little is still known about the processes of decoupling and failure that are steered by a well-known resistance to change (Gilbert et al., 2004; Shareef et al., 2011; Janssen and Estevez, 2013). In addition, Gil-Garcia et al. (2018) underlined the prevalence of quantitative studies on digitalisation and public management, underlining the need for further qualitative research for an in-depth exploration of this practice. In filling these gaps, the present research aimed to understand how these digitalisation models were implemented, and which conditions raise public inefficiency and destroy public value (Layne and Lee, 2001; West, 2004; Cui and Osborne, 2023). This study focuses on a medium-sized Italian municipality situated within an environment rich in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), referred to as Alpha (a fictional name). Italy is a unique context for studying this “kind of failure” as a country known for its complex bureaucratic landscape (Pollitt et al., 2007). The e-government implementation stages within this municipality have been underway since 2012, and their development has been explored through a longitudinal approach. The authors collected data from 2013 to 2023 through four rounds of semi-structured interviews with Alpha’s key informants.

The paper’s contribution is twofold. First, the paper addresses the challenges and limitations encountered while implementing e-government in a public administration context. This contrasts with existing literature that often focuses on successful case studies. Second, by highlighting the factors hindering digital transformation, the research provides valuable insights for policymakers and practitioners on how to avoid e-government policy failure and public value destruction.

Italy’s Digital Agenda 2030 aligns with broader European goals by emphasising the modernisation and digitisation of public administration (Alford and Hughes, 2008). Integrating technology within NPM reforms is crucial for enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of public services (Osborne, 1993). As Acemoglu (2003) and Alford and Hughes (2008) argue, technology facilitates the adoption of NPM principles, including transparency, accountability, and performance measurement. Studies indicate that the effective use of technology can lead to efficiency and public value creation (Malodia et al., 2021; Zhang and Kimathi, 2022), whereas its misuse can be detrimental (Cui and Osborne, 2023).

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the digital transformation of public service delivery, prompting European governments, including Italy, to explore the concept of digital government transformation at the local level (Agostino et al., 2021; Tangi et al., 2021; Curtis, 2019; Mergel et al., 2019). This transformation involves significant “cultural, organisational, and relational changes” within public entities (Mergel et al., 2019, p. 12). The Italian government’s recent proposal to incorporate artificial intelligence into public administration further underscores this trend.

More than a decade after the initial legislative push, it is crucial to investigate the adoption of e-government systems by municipalities and their impact on government-citizen relationships. E-government is defined in various ways, from using technology to improve service delivery (Silcock, 2001) to focusing on internet-based service provision to leverage the electronic economy (Esteves and Joseph, 2008). This paper adopts a definition of e-government as the use of technology, particularly web-based applications, to enhance access to and delivery of government information and services and to transform internal and external relationships (Pina et al., 2010; Twizeyimana and Andersson, 2019; Adjei-Bamfo et al., 2019). Specifically, this study examines the relationship between these platforms and citizens’ requests for services related to commercial activities.

According to Janssen and Estevez (2013, p. 52), there are many definitions of e-government. Still, generally, it should be understood as “the use of ICTs to improve the activities of public sector organisations.” As underlined by Manoharan and Ingrams (2018), many governments and local governments have used ICT to integrate various of their internal functions and improve service delivery to citizens. In practice, with the development of the Internet and the continuous increase of citizens using Web applications daily, public administration, especially local government, has been forced to innovate, analyse, integrate, and develop new online services.

NPM reforms have progressed toward digital-era governance, using technology to streamline processes, improve service delivery, and advance decision-making. Automation of routine tasks, data analysis for performance evaluation, and enhanced communication among governmental agencies are now possible thanks to technology (Alford and Hughes, 2008; Singh and Slack, 2022). According to e-government studies, when properly employed, digitalisation can enable efficiency and raise public value creation (Malodia et al., 2021; Zhang and Kimathi, 2022).

Innovation and change management are always associated with risks and project failure. Several scholars have noted that, in public administration, especially at the local level, e-government projects and digital transformation have been slow, cumbersome, and, in many cases, unsuccessful (e.g. Glyptis et al., 2020). In some situations, the economic losses associated with “failed projects” led to crises for incumbent governments, development delays for the country, and even financial crises (Goldfinch, 2007; Twizeyimana and Andersson, 2019; Adjei-Bamfo et al., 2019).

Digital transformation, which for many companies in the private sector has been the driver for innovation, the development of new markets, products, and services, and the development of new business models (Nambisan et al., 2019), has slowed, if not worsened, the quality and timing of many citizen services in the public sector, reducing citizens’ expectations and adoption by citizens, to the point of reinstating traditional channels (Heeks and Bailur, 2007; Anthopoulos et al., 2016), even questioning the usefulness of e-government (Paulin, 2015).

The main factors leading to the failure of e-government projects are the lack of strategic vision (e.g. poorly defined or generic goals), lack of managerial skills, poor project management, and organisational problems (e.g. errors in process management, failure to manage information and information systems). Otherwise, financial issues related to a lack of funds for investments, as well as the absence of technology and/or the presence of monopoly applications, appear to be at the bottom of the ranking of reasons leading to the failure of e-government projects (Anthopoulos et al., 2016).

According to Anthopoulos et al. (2016), the factors that lead to failure could be divided into six macro clusters: organisational factors, political factors, external factors, competencies/skills factors, strategic factors, and technological factors (see also Gold et al., 2001; Choi and Chandler, 2020). This also reminds us that organisations can be influenced by many internal and external institutional forces that could affect their actions at governance levels (Twizeyimana and Andersson, 2019; Haug et al., 2024). It should be noted that the organisation can respond in different ways to institutional pressures, such as conforming to the requested behaviour or developing decoupling strategies to be trusted to conform to the normative or legislative requirements (Boxenbaum and Jonsson, 2017) and driven by the governance (Dunleavy et al., 2006). This behaviour is gradually steering a process of value destruction. The concept of value destruction in public service challenges the traditional belief that public services are inherently beneficial, arguing instead that they can produce adverse outcomes for individuals and society (Esposito and Ricci, 2015; Cui and Osborne, 2023). They highlight user agency as a significant factor, noting that users can unintentionally or deliberately misuse services, often influenced by negative past experiences, which can lead to reduced service value (Liljeroos-Cork and Luhtala, 2025). Additionally, value destruction is shown to be a multi-stage process, potentially arising at any point from service design to delivery and use, emphasising the need for a comprehensive perspective in which accountability can be seen as an opposing “force” that steers transparency in the public sector (Steccolini, 2019). Contextual influences emphasise how societal norms, institutional settings, and broader environmental factors can shape user-provider interactions and potentially lead to value loss. On the one hand, in service design, a lack of user participation or dominance by political interests may lead to misalignment between services and stakeholders’ needs (Naveed et al., 2025). On the other hand, during direct interactions, errors or power imbalances between service providers and users can result in dissatisfaction or internal resistance to change (Zaki et al., 2024).

The literature provides a comprehensive overview of various e-government models, effectively summarised by Malodia et al. (2021) and Bannister (2023). While these models describe different evolutionary stages, not all stages are mandatory in a sequential transition. An analysis of these frameworks indicates that West’s (2004) model is the most extensive, categorised into four primary developmental phases (Bannister, 2023; Zou et al., 2023).

The initial phase is referred to as the “Billboard Stage.” In this stage, governments are still acquiring experience with new technologies, especially the Internet. To mitigate risk, they often prioritise smaller projects (Layne and Lee, 2001; Shareef et al., 2011; Zou et al., 2023). The Billboard Stage involves the implementation of static features, which allow users to view information on websites, thereby addressing the increasing demands of civil society. This phase offers fundamental functionalities and limits two-way interaction, permitting users to access information without the ability to modify it (West, 2004; Shareef et al., 2011; Chan et al., 2021).

The subsequent phase is known as the “Partial-Service Delivery Stage.” This phase coincides with the evolution of government websites, where government employees and citizens contribute to enhancing the Internet as an additional service channel (Shareef et al., 2011; Kumar et al., 2021; Sharma et al., 2021). In this context, users can complete specific tasks online and manipulate database information independently, enabling a broader collection of necessary resources. Nonetheless, the range and accessibility of services and information require enhancement, particularly in terms of privacy, security, and universal access (West, 2004; Malodia et al., 2021).

The third phase is termed the “Portal Stage,” in which service delivery becomes fully executable and integrated. This stage emphasises transforming services rather than merely automating and digitising current processes. Achieving true e-government necessitates fundamental changes in the service delivery model (Janssen and Estevez, 2013; Chan et al., 2021; Sharma et al., 2021). According to Layne and Lee (2001), “the full benefit of e-government will be realised only when organisational changes accompany technological changes” (p. 130). A significant aspect of this stage is the establishment of integrated portals that connect various administrative systems, providing citizens with accessible and efficient information (West, 2004). Furthermore, an enhanced focus on privacy and security prompts organisations to communicate their policies (Shareef et al., 2011).

The fourth phase, “Interactive Democracy with Public Outreach and Accountability Features,” represents a pivotal advancement. Only upon reaching this stage, characterised by the transcendence of organisational boundaries, can the full potential of e-government be realised. This phase requires vertical integration of different administrative levels, horizontal integration with external environments, and the development of a connective infrastructure (Ranga, 2011). Here, websites advance beyond essential service delivery, enabling users to customise their services and actively engage with technology. According to Janssen and Estevez (2013), e-government concentrates primarily on creating citizen-centric services and addressing government functions without encroaching upon the core values and objectives of the public sector. Thus, citizens transition from passive recipients of public services to active contributors to the service provision process (West, 2004; Linders, 2012; Janssen and Estevez, 2013).

West's four-stage model (2004) will be employed to analyse the different barriers that hamper the digitalisation process in the phases of its implementation.

The study examines the implementation of e-government models and the conditions under which digitalisation raises public inefficiency and destroys public value (Layne and Lee, 2001; West, 2004). To address these research scopes, the study developed a longitudinal case study that provides a unique context of IT development in the public sector. This case study has been examined through a 10-year data collection across four distinct phases (2013, 2017, 2019, 2023). Saldaña (2003) emphasises that a longitudinal study should establish its duration based on the time required to comprehensively investigate the development of specific practices (e.g. Bernardi and LaCross, 2010; Singh et al., 2011). Longitudinal qualitative case studies are well-suited for understanding evolutionary and transformative developmental processes, as digitalisation development phases (Patton, 2014).

In this sense, the Alpha municipality represents a notable example of introducing e-government in a multi-step approach. Alpha must be considered a pivotal example of a public entity that provides services to commercial activities through the new enterprises office. This office aims to support the development of SMEs in one of Italy’s most economically developed provinces. As SMEs are usually resource-limited in administrative functions, this increases the need for a prompt response from the public administration service. In this context, the study of e-government implementation permitted the analysis of a complex phenomenon that is still scantily understood (e.g. public value destruction). Further, the governance’s commitment to the research permitted in-depth data collection over time. According to Patton (2014), two typologies of triangulation allowed us to increase the rigorous nature of this study. First, triangulation of the methods permitted consideration of interviews, internal documents, and public information (e.g. from the Website) concerning the introduction and implementation of the system. Second, different key informants were involved, providing different points of view on the same process of the NEO office digitalisation.

A team of three researchers conducted the study, monitoring the introduction, implementation, and evolution of the e-government system from 2013 to 2023. Semi-structured interviews, analysis of internal documents (provided by key informants), and notes taken in the field from observation were considered primary sources, while public communications and press reviews were considered secondary sources.

The 18 interviews with NEO's key informants lasted about 45 min (see Table 1). During the introduction, implementation, and development of e-government, two researchers interviewed key informants involved in the process and working at the organisation, including managers, officers, and employees. Each colloquium followed a specific semi-structured interview framework composed of 12 questions. During the interview, the leading researcher guided the framework of the questions while the other researcher took notes on the interviewees’ responses. The semi-structured interview method allows the interviewee more freedom when replying, and the answers usually have a higher level of accountability regarding the colloquium topic. The interviewees were chosen based on their competence and engagement with the IT implementation process. At a governance level, researchers first interviewed the senior manager responsible for the agency and its commercial activities (e.g. shops, bakeries, coffee bars, supermarkets) and second, the managers or officers directly accountable to the senior manager. At an operational level, the key informants interviewed comprised office staff/employees and trainees. According to Patton (2014), a qualitative sample must be sufficiently large to ensure that most, if not all, of the crucial perceptions are uncovered. Still, at the same time, if the sample is too large, data becomes repetitive and, eventually, superfluous. Hence, the sample size in most qualitative studies should generally follow the concept of saturation when new data collection does not provide further insight into the issue under investigation (Glaser and Strauss, 1967). The saturation level in this study was reached in 2023, following the fourth and final round of interviews.

The significant commitment to governance and direct contact with the people engaged in the process facilitated the collection of several reserved documents related to the project implementation phases, internal directives, and protocols for developing the new IT system. The analysis of the collected data was based on an interpretative approach, which, according to Crotty (1998), aims to explore cultural meaning. A logical model was identified as the framework for analysing a specific case study within its context. Starting from the reviewed literature on e-government implementation, the coding was based on the West (2004) framework, considering the positive and negative effects of the IT system implementation in NEO and Alpha.

Since 2012, the Alpha municipality, in particular NEO, has implemented e-government in the processes that provide administrative services to enterprises with the declared scopes to reduce bureaucracy and the waiting time involved in obtaining authorisations for example, for opening a new business or making a change in business features. The introduction of the system in this context, and continued monitoring of its implementation enabled the complete mapping of the process over time.

The Alpha municipality represents a province in the North of Italy, characterised by a prosperous economy and a vast network of enterprises that operate as national leaders in several industries. This territory is one of the most important for exporting products and has a high value per capita; despite the crisis, it is showing a positive trend.

The NEO “function” at Alpha municipality is focused on trade and market authorisations and permits for new economic activities, such as enterprises, shops, or commercial businesses. Consequently, the role of the NEO in the economic texture is considered pivotal and receives several external requests. In this study, we will consider the part of the office that provides authorisation for commercial activities. This is the most significant part of the NEO and employs 12 people, including managers, employees, and organisational staff.

According to West’s (2004) framework, the following subsections will present the first free stages of e-government development. The fourth stage, “interactive democracy”, has not been implemented.

Since 2012, the implementation of e-government has progressed in three main stages. In the beginning, Alpha’s governance analysed the processes and activities carried out in the NEO before implementing the e-government system. This helped identify proper actions to facilitate the introduction of this system to the NEO. To better explain the complex procedure that citizens must follow to obtain a commercial license to operate, we will outline this process step by step, starting with the first phase of implementation, “Billboard” (West, 2004; Shareef et al., 2011), and paying particular attention to the role of the NEO. In 2012, citizens could find the documents to make a request directly in the NEO’s front office and return them to the same place, filled out. It was also necessary to attach the following documents:

1. The mandate to operate in the event of additional partners.

2. An official identification document for each partner.

3. A copy of the planimetry of where the commercial activity will be carried out and the related license issued by an expert who certifies the conformity to standards.

4. Self-certification of moral prerequisites and anti-mafia.

5. Certification of members’ competence.

6. The license obtained from the local healthcare agency confirms that the health requirements have been met.

7. The license obtained from customs for alcohol purchasing.

The NEO then took responsibility for the request and recorded it in its system. The request and the attached documents received that day initiated the validation process, which, by law, must not exceed 60 days (Decree Law 90/2014). To achieve complete validation, a printed copy of the request and several checks were needed to verify the truthfulness of the documents provided by the citizen. To do this, the NEO collected information from other public organisations, such as the prefecture, local healthcare agency, and chamber of commerce. Often, the NEO had some concerns about the request. In most cases, NEO employees had to contact citizens directly to communicate and discuss issues related to the uploaded documents, aiming to find a solution to these concerns. Finally, once approved, the NEO delivered a hard copy of the authorisation to the citizen.

In this first stage, interviewees highlighted the main difficulty in identifying the correct document to deliver to the NEO front office, as it was challenging to locate the proper document among the extensive list of documents (approximately 80 different forms for application, depending on the business type). In this phase, 46% of citizens made mistakes in selecting the proper document to fill in. Additionally, the control process was unclear and lacked a defined structure. It could be delayed by citizens’ mistakes in choosing the correct document to fill in and by the time it took NEO employees to resolve any related issues. Hence, if an NEO operator found errors during the process, they would stop it and contact the concerned citizen. Moreover, during the “manual” validation process, some documents were lost or not put on the priority list, causing further delay. The average waiting time for the validation request was 21 days.

From 2015, the second stage of this implementation, “partial service delivery” (West, 2004; Shareef et al., 2011), began. In this phase, the Alpha municipality introduced a website where citizens could download all the documents necessary for the specific request, depending on the industry. After filling in and scanning these documents, the entrepreneur emailed the request and related documents to the NEO using a dedicated email address. As in the preview stage, checks and controls were conducted on the request received, followed by the same internal process.

In this second stage, the NEO receives the application, along with attached self-certifications that certify the application complies with current regulations. These files were prepared by licensed professionals and signed by the legal representative. The NEO subsequently forwards the file to the relevant offices for their verification. Therefore, the interviewee states, “The file is processed by the offices afterwards, verifying what the user has self-certified. Depending on the internal organisational capacity, the municipal office can decide whether to do a sample examination of the files or examine them all” (Interviewee 11). If the offices have not expressed an opinion by the deadline, the review is considered to have been successfully concluded by silent consent.

In this second stage, the NEO, during with the evolution of the Website, introduced an Internet tool as an additional channel for providing services. However, despite the digitalisation, citizens could not find the correct documents to fill in easily, and as in the first phase, the wrong applications were sometimes delivered. Approximately 27% of the documents received by email in NEO were wrong. The Website was introduced to facilitate the relationship between the NEO and citizens, but due to information overload, the Website was not user-friendly. Despite the analysis and the identification of proper organisational processes to improve the platform, Alpha’s governance decided not to consider the evidence coming from these processes because, as a consequence, several employees would have to be relocated and retrained in other public functions or areas. This mismanagement of the validation process led to most of the e-government objectives not being achieved. In particular, they only converted the “manual processes” into “automatic processes”, thereby increasing the number of errors.

Finally, in the last stage of the development, “portal” (Layne and Lee, 2001; West, 2004; Shareef et al., 2011), the Alpha municipality based all the processes of the input request and delivery of the authorisation on a dedicated web platform. In this final phase, citizens were required to complete a specific form and upload the requested attachments. The digital requests and documents arrive at the NEO, where an employee saves all the information daily in a particular server that helps managers define the timetable and workflow. At the same time, these documents were printed, and the same control process was carried out as in the previous stages of the e-government implementation. In this phase, NEO has undergone its last significant digital implementation changes in 2017 and has not undergone substantial changes since then.

In the “portal” stage, the data entry process was digitised, granting the citizen a quick application to deliver all the validation requests. On the other hand, as in the previous phase, the internal validation process was still being carried out manually, which did not help reduce the recognised inefficiencies. Citizens are still waiting 20 days to receive the validation of their requests. Years after the introduction of e-government, the Alpha municipality has only saved one day in the time required for service delivery.

However, the interviews reveal room for improvement in various areas, and above all, we are faced with new choices. Among the minor changes introduced is the electronic payment, which has made financial transactions between citizens, businesses, and public administrations more efficient. Interviewee 18 declared that electronic payment “has eliminated the need to go to counters, reduced bureaucracy physically, and made payments traceable and recorded, reducing the risk of fraud or errors.”

Beyond the mandatory implementation of Presidential Decree 160/2010, a crucial issue was the reduction in staff, as one interviewee stated: “Every 10 years, we lose 30% of our personnel” (Interviewee 6). The decreasing staff numbers and a constant increase in applications to handle (see Figure 1) created a critical problem, necessitating a new approach. Interviews revealed that, in the highly productive environment of the municipality, thanks to the region and a few forward-thinking regional managers who understood the importance of the NEO, it became possible to “standardise procedures at a central level and extend these procedures indirectly to all municipalities. They developed the models and procedures and then placed them in the Chamber [of Commerce] portal, where all municipalities had to use the procedures that had been divided and selected at the central level. This was the first real standardisation of procedures at the regional level, something that had never happened before” (Interviewee 8).

Therefore, in addition to staffing issues, it became essential to standardise the system, as we live in an increasingly globalised society that requires shared and straightforward procedures. Another problematic aspect was the numerous versions of the platform and processes (over 200 just related to the NEO), which required “an enormous amount of work to update processes constantly. Today, thanks to the opening of this single digital desk, this task is the responsibility of a working group and the Region. The group comprises specialists and colleagues from municipalities who have knowledge and experience and constantly update all the forms found on the platform” (Interviewee 16).

Other fundamental aspects were the bulk and unsustainability of using paper-based practices. Having so many papers creates the need for extensive archives and, consequently, their management. One interviewee stated: “We have an archive that stretches for 5 kilometres across five locations; we needed to find another system, we didn’t have any more money to buy cabinets, so we needed to digitise at least the new practices” (Interviewee 12). Thousands of requests for document extraction from the archive and access to records are submitted to the administration annually. This problem arises whenever it is necessary to extract paper documents. Everything becomes immediate, however, with electronic practices, which can be found in a few moments. In addition to the slowness of the service (the municipality in question requires six months to access records from the time of the request), all this incurs very high costs, as it is necessary to transfer thousands of files between buildings to make the requested copy. One interviewee also underlines the economic burden on specific figures: before the digitalisation process, the municipality spent between 25,000 and 30,000 euros to send registered letters, which, thanks to certified email, are now immediate and free of charge.

Presidential Decree 160/2010 placed the authority before an important decision: continue on its path with all its criticalities or find innovative solutions to revolutionise the management model of NEO procedures. Despite the numerous advantages of a digital system, there was still resistance, which will be analysed in the following subsection.

In 2017, the average age of Alpha employees was 54 and this led a common resistance to change from people doing their jobs the same way for many years. These staff members, nearing retirement and unfamiliar with digital tools, presented a significant obstacle. “The biggest problem is internal resistance because change is always challenging. Sometimes it’s easier to print a document and send it on, rather than learning new procedures,” said Interviewee 13, who described himself as a pioneer of this change. Over time, this issue was overcome by hiring younger staff, who successfully facilitated the transition within a couple of years.

Another obstacle to digitalisation was the need for adequate IT tools and, consequently, a significant investment for the municipality. This investment was only approved once the benefits of the digitalisation project became evident. This issue also affected the public, who needed the right tools to use the system. A PC, an internet connection, a certified email address (PEC), and a digital signature were all necessary. Not everyone had access to these tools, so it was acceptable to “rely on the relevant trade association, or consult their accountant, technician, or a friend who has these tools. For example, having a certified email was important because this is where you receive the submission receipts that certify the correct submission of the application and the various official authorisations” (Interviewee 10). To help users navigate this new system, technical support from InfoCamere (a government-controlled service company) and a more specialised help desk within the municipality were established. A further struggle was maintaining a dual system (decoupling strategy). Indeed, to facilitate archive searches, all data continued to be uploaded, initially manually and then via XML files, to the existing management system as each manager prefer her/his control system.

Employees required significant (and sometimes duplicated) internal and external training to face the process change. There were conflicting views among interviewees on this point, possibly due to the varying types of training required for different roles. One interviewee stated they had received little training: “I remember attending perhaps a couple of meetings where we had the opportunity to understand what the NEO was, but nothing more than that” (Interviewee 5). Other interviewees, however, reported good training, including from InfoCamere consultants. One interviewee said they had “distributed thousands of copies of the guide” and held “small meetings to explain exactly how the digital system worked” (Interviewee 9).

In 2012, the Alpha municipality began implementing e-government to better manage the new Trade and Market offices. This initial improvement step (Billboard) aimed to increase digitalisation in the relationships among citizens, the NEO function, and other local public entities. At the outset of this process, Alpha’s management announced its intention to develop a system that would reduce costs, time, and bureaucracy for citizens and local administrations. In turn, it was expected that this would increase citizens’ satisfaction with the services provided (Lin et al., 2011).

Moreover, by digitalising the information, the governance would create a network among several local or national public administrations, increasing the accountability to external stakeholders (Pollitt and Bouckaert, 2011). According to West (2004), these results can only be obtained in the last phase (interactive democracy), which the Alpha municipality has not yet reached. The Alpha municipality has only achieved the first wave of e-government’s evolution, and the process is not yet completed (see Janssen and Estevez, 2013). In light of the model proposed by West (2004) and then employed also by Layne and Lee (2001) and Shareef et al. (2011), the NEO can be considered stuck in the third development phase (portal). This is due to the mismanagement that has hindered the natural evolution of the e-government process, as well as numerous barriers, primarily stemming from employee resistance to change. Hence, the Alpha’s governance could not reduce the costs, time, or bureaucracy in the NEO. Moreover, the e-government system was not connected to other public administration entities because the system applied was inconsistent with the different software already used by these organisations and other public organisations. This has been translated into numerous cross-requests and a cumbersome control process.

In contract with previous studies (Gilbert et al., 2004; Shareef et al., 2011; Janssen and Estevez, 2013), the e-government solution implemented in the Alpha municipality after ten years of gradual implementation has only partially improved the quality of services to citizens offered by the NEO. However, the entrepreneur can now easily find information, download documents, and deliver the validation request to the NEO. However, the internal control process still follows the same workflow, which is hindering a reduction in the waiting time for validation delivery. According to Lin et al. (2011), who re-elaborated the idea of Dishaw and Strong (1999), the widespread failure of e-government projects suggests that e-government often produces too much native optimism. The interviewees also confirm this view.

Similarly to Janssen and Estevez (2013, p. S7), e-government “can be viewed as a set of tools, an approach to reduce costs and improve services, a system, and a philosophy based on a smaller government that makes use of existing capabilities in the society to reach public values”. Business process reengineering usually helps organisations to increase their efficiency and effectiveness (Grover et al., 1995), which means that resources used in the process, such as time, funds, and human resources, are rationalised. This concept is derived from NPM and related to the principle of “do more with less” (Osborne, 1993, p. 350), where public administration entities could improve performance and increase flexibility. Thanks to the process used by the Alpha municipality, the consumption of these resources could be reduced, especially among employees. However, Alpha’s governance did not decide to change the organisational flowchart, creating additional redundancy by increasing inefficiency and destroying public value (Dunleavy et al., 2006). The study confirms that public value destruction is a multi-stage process (Steccolini, 2019; Esposito and Ricci, 2015) and derives from a mix of barriers, such as the missing stakeholder engagement and accountability (Pollitt and Bouckaert, 2011; Lin et al., 2011; Dishaw and Strong, 1999), the resistance to change and insufficient and inconsistent training of the entire organisation toward e-government implementation (Cui and Osborne, 2023). As also highlighted by Dishaw and Strong (1999), one of the significant problems that led to Alpha’s failure was the optimism that top managers had placed on ICT tools. From analysing this case and implementing the e-government in the NEO, authors have highlighted concerns about mismanagement that has compromised achieving the objectives initially identified by the Alpha’s governance, which followed the NPM principle and its application. Following West’s (2004) framework, the Alpha municipality omitted the fourth phase of the e-government’s implementation (interactive democracy with the public), that should allow citizens to customise the service and push the technology forward. As the Alpha case analysis shows, the service is not entirely satisfactory due to the lack of implementation of the last stage of West’s (2004) framework. Hence, the Alpha municipality has improved just the data entry phase, which depends on the citizens, while the internal validation process has remained the same. Moreover, creating a network among local and central public organisations was impossible, so citizens could not benefit from data integration.

The introduction of this new e-government system has necessitated a complete overhaul of the municipality’s organisational structure, eliminated redundant processes and streamlined workflows. A key aspect of this transformation was adopting a specialised platform provided by InfoCamere, which has significantly improved the efficiency of handling administrative procedures. The municipality adapted its software to ensure compatibility with existing systems, integrating the new platform with existing applications. The implementation of the digital platform has yielded numerous benefits. Firstly, it has significantly improved the efficiency of retrieving and accessing documents. Previously, accessing documents could take up to six months due to the use of paper-based archiving. With the digital system, documents can now be found instantly. Moreover, the system has increased transparency in administrative processes, making it easier for citizens to track the progress of their applications. This increased transparency has also helped to reduce corruption. Additionally, the digital platform allows free communication between the municipality and its citizens. Furthermore, it has facilitated collaboration among municipal employees, making the sharing of information and the completion of tasks easier.

While digital transformation has brought several benefits, it has also presented several challenges that hinder the evolution of e-government. The initial transition to the new system was challenging, as employees had to adjust to new working methods. Additionally, significant upfront costs were associated with purchasing new hardware and software. Another challenge has been the need for ongoing training and support for employees. As technology evolves, it is crucial to ensure that employees possess the necessary skills and knowledge to utilise the new system effectively. Despite the platform’s potential, the resistance to change has steered a decoupling behaviour in the organisation to conform to the law while maintaining the traditional measurement system of service performance, duplicating the account of the same issues and destroying value instead of creating it.

Results show how the implementation of e-governments can be hampered by a high level of bureaucracy and a lack of willingness by the governance to change its organisational processes and workflows, thereby creating limited value for citizens. In addition to contributing to the reviewed literature on e-government implementation, the present study identified several barriers to overcome. In particular, in our case, the role of governance had a negative influence on achieving objectives, reducing the positive effects that e-governments typically have on public entities (Gilbert et al., 2004; Shareef et al., 2011; Janssen and Estevez, 2013). In policy-making implications, the study suggests that the implementation of e-government processes should be coupled with appropriate training of governance and employees as well as the engagement of stakeholders as local public entities.

Although the present study provides several practical implications regarding the implementation of e-government, the analysis is limited to a single public organisation and a particular typology of service provision. Comparing similar cases in other contexts could overcome this limitation. Thus, further research will be necessary to integrate West’s (2004) and Janssen and Estevez’s (2013) models and evaluate the governance levers for overcoming issues in implementing e-government practices.