Managing e-transformation in the public sector: an e-government study of the Inland Revenue Authority in Singapore

Continuous organizational transformation is becoming a common phenomenon as public agencies rapidly embrace new information technologies (IT) to streamline and re-invent their obsolete operations. However, due to the overwhelming extent of the necessary changes as well as the sheer diversity of stakeholders involved in transforming corporate functions, practitioners are finding it difficult to manage the level of dynamism required in the effort. In an attempt to shed some light on the phenomenon of managing e-transformation, this paper examines in-depth an e-government initiative. Through the study of how one organization in the public sector adapts to the dynamic customer relations brought about by e-transformation, the case serves to identify the governing factors for successful organization–stakeholder relations, and how these may have a bearing on the development of effective e-transformation strategies. An important contribution of this study is the proposal of a development model of relationships in organizations for an understanding into how organization–stakeholder relationships can be efficiently managed to bring about an effective overhaul of business processes.