Product details

This case focuses on the development of e-government in Estonia in the context of building an information society. It starts out by explaining the country''s background, highlighting its recent political and economic changeover and emphasising the role of political foresight and leadership in promoting the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in the country. It then discusses the history of public sector transformation and development of e-government. The case provides a complete overview of the evolution of the Estonian information system and describes in detail the state IT infrastructure and its three pillars: (1) the data exchange layer X-Road; (2) the PKI infrastructure (the national ID card and digital signature) (these are considered to be the fundament of successful implementation of e-government); and (3) the ''virtual office'', a unified service space which enables people to access all public services in one place. Furthermore, the case illustrates several interesting solutions in the Estonian public sector: e-Cabinet, e-Democracy, e-Voting, and e-Tax Board. Further, it discusses security and privacy issues and identifies what challenges the Estonian government faced to create functioning e-government, and what measures where taken to overcome the hurdles. Finally, the case concludes with an outlook into the state''s IT plans in the future. The case can be used in MBA, Masters degree or other graduate programmes for the following courses: (1) business policy; (2) business strategy; (3) strategic management; (4) public management; (5) public administration; (6) information systems / information technology; (7) e-Commerce / e-Business; and (8) e-Governance / e-Government. Additionally, the case can be used to train public sector leaders, high-level civil servants and non-governmental leaders in courses, workshops or seminars.