A study on government-dominated e-government outsourcing model

摘要

Based on interviews and field research, this paper presents a comparison of the strengths and weaknesses of various outsourcing models generally adopted by Chinese government agencies in their e-government initiatives, with special focus laid on the elaboration of the government-dominated e-government outsourcing model. With a view to solving the problem of staff shortage, ensuring governmental information security, and promoting sustainable development of e-government, China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) has organized a limited liability company--Beijing iTowNet Cyber Technology Ltd, to provide outsourcing services concerning e-government system development, operation and maintenance for the administration. With such measures as rational ownership structure, adequate management, and introduction of standards, AQSIQ has not only successfully addressed difficulties caused by lack of human, technical, and financial resources, but ensured its dominance, supervision and control over e-government outsourcing. This paper not only advocates a specific government-dominated approach for other Chinese government agencies to learn from in their e-government initiatives, but provides an innovative theoretical perspective and serves as a typical case for study for government agencies of many other developing countries.