Digital government evolution: From transformation to contextualization

• Digital Government evolves through Digitization, Transformation, Engagement and Contextualization stages.
• Each stage has a logical description based on three binary variables and a thematic description based on related literature.
• Each stage can be explained by pressures on government and how digital innovation is applied to address such pressures.
• The model was validated by analysis of Digital Government articles published in GIQ between 1992 and 2014.
• The fastest growth is observed in the Engagement stage, followed by Contextualization, followed by Transformation.

The Digital Government landscape is continuously changing to reflect how governments are trying to find innovative digital solutions to social, economic, political and other pressures, and how they transform themselves in the process. Understanding and predicting such changes is important for policymakers, government executives, researchers and all those who prepare, make, implement or evaluate Digital Government decisions. This article argues that the concept of Digital Government evolves toward more complexity and greater contextualization and specialization, similar to evolution-like processes that lead to changes in cultures and societies. To this end, the article presents a four-stage Digital Government Evolution Model comprising Digitization (Technology in Government), Transformation (Electronic Government), Engagement (Electronic Governance) and Contextualization (Policy-Driven Electronic Governance) stages; provides some evidence in support of this model drawing upon the study of the Digital Government literature published in Government Information Quarterly between 1992 and 2014; and presents a Digital Government Stage Analysis Framework to explain the evolution. As the article consolidates a representative body of the Digital Government literature, it could be also used for defining and integrating future research in the area.