This thesis is focussed on an interpretive evaluation study of a large and complex e-government project that was intended to further the achievement of improved governance in the management of public sector funds in Sri Lanka and was actively supported by one of the international financing institutions. Why is this important? The learning lies not so much in establishing 'the facts' of the matter - the processes through which the project initially failed and then later succeeded in meeting its performance targets - but rather in facilitating the building of a shared view of these processes that will inform the design and implementation of future e-govemment projects. The conclusion is reached that the concept of' good governance' in financial management that was held by the international financing institution at the time of the research exercise was inadequately supported by the available e-govemment project design and implementation tools. An integrated information system was deemed to be necessary for fiscal accountability and transparency. Yet an international 'best practice' model was rejected as inappropriate during the process of localisation in the Sri Lankan Ministry of Finance. Improved governance was eventually achieved - but through local information systems improvisations. This process study employs three complementary analytical frameworks from Actor- Network Theory that have rarely been applied together. A synergy is created that is able to exploit the interpretive powers of the theory, with the whole of the analyses being greater than its constituent parts. As such, this is a potential model for future qualitative evaluation studies of information systems projects.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:512202 |
| Date | January 2009 |
| Creators | Stanforth, Carolyne Mary |
| Publisher | University of Manchester |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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