Abstract:
Purpose – Scaling is an important concern in the management of information systems projects.
E-Government projects are no exception to the challenges of scaling. The problem is more severe because of a
large and diverse population of target users and more crucial because of the vulnerability of the target
population in case of failure of such initiatives (in projects, such as public distribution system of food). In spite
of a significant awareness of its importance among implementers, scaling still remains a challenge. This
paper aims to examine this important issue.
Design/methodology/approach – The case study method has been used to demonstrate the
relationship between integration and scaling of e-Government projects. This study uses analytic
generalization from field case as a method to theorize a broad framework for the integration of information
and communications technology projects. The context of this study is an e-Government project in West
Bengal, India. The selection of the case involved theoretical sampling apart from considerations for the
possibility of access to the project and its appropriateness with respect to the topic under study.
Findings – Five different levels of integration in e-Government projects, namely, interface, data, electronic
communication, application, and knowledge, have been identified. Further, it has been demonstrated that each
of these integration mechanisms impacts scaling of e-Government projects. Also, the nature of the impact has
been identified.
Originality/value – This paper demonstrates the impact of integration on the scaling of e-Government
projects. It analyzes the phenomenon of integration in terms of five different levels. All the levels of
integration impact scaling of e-Government projects in different ways.