Big data is being implemented with success in the private sector and science. Yet the public sector seems to be falling behind, despite the potential value of big data for government. Government organizations do recognize the opportunities of big data but seem uncertain about whether they are ready for the introduction of big data, and if they are adequately equipped to use big data. This paper addresses those uncertainties. It presents an assessment framework for evaluating public organizations' big data readiness. Doing so demystifies the concept of big data, as it is expressed in terms of specific and measureable organizational characteristics. The framework was tested by applying it to organizations in the Dutch public sector. The results suggest that organizations may be technically capable of using big data, but they will not significantly gain from these activities if the applications do not fit their organizations and main statutory tasks. The framework proved helpful in pointing out areas where public sector organizations could improve, providing guidance on how government can become more big data ready in the future.

Joining up remains a high priority on the e-government agenda and requires extensive transformation. Stage models are predictable patterns that exist in the growth of organizations and unfold as discrete time periods that result in discontinuity and can help e-government development towards joined-up government. Although stage models may be conceptually appealing, these models are often not empirically validated, do not transcend the level of individual organizations and provide little practical support to policy-makers. Furthermore, they do not include the dynamic capabilities needed by organizations to transform from one stage to the next stage.In this paper, a five-staged model is presented that describes the progression from stovepiped situations toward a nationwide, customer-oriented and joined-up government. For realizing each stage the dynamic capabilities that are needed are identified. This model is empirically validated and helps government agencies benchmark their position, realize their role in the formation of a joined-up government, develop the necessary capabilities and adopt centrally developed infrastructural facilities aimed at moving to the next stage. We found that growth stages are useful for providing guidance and can be used by policy-makers to stimulate the developments of capabilities needed by organizations to migrate from one stage to another.

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Public value theory offers innovative ways to plan, design, and implement digital government initiatives. The theory has gained the attention of researchers due to its powerful proposition that shifts the focus of public sector management from internal efficiency to value creation processes that occur outside the organization. While public value creation has become the expectation that digital government initiatives have to fulfil, there is lack of theoretical clarity on what public value means and on how digital technologies can contribute to its creation. The special issue presents a collection of six papers that provide new insights on how digital technologies support public value creation. Building on their contributions, the editorial note conceptualizes the realm of public value creation by highlighting: (1) the integrated nature of public value creation supported by digital government implementations rather than enhancing the values provided by individual technologies or innovations, (2) how the outcome of public value creation is reflected in the combined consumption of the various services enabled by technologies and (3) how public value creation is enabled by organizational capabilities and configurations.

With increasing global trade and growing emphasis on security, enhanced information sharing between actors in global supply chains is required. Currently, the data about cargo available in the supply chain does not provide a timely and accurate description of the goods. To solve this data quality issue, data should be captured upstream at the point where goods are packed for transport to the buyer. Without ICT, it was not possible to get timely access to the original trade data. The data pipeline concept is an IT innovation to enable capturing data at the source. The data pipeline accesses existing information systems used by the parties in international supply chains. This paper explores the data pipeline concept and the benefits that businesses and governments could obtain from such an innovation. This study also identifies the need for a public-private governance model that has to accompany the technical innovation.