No abstract

Purpose -The purpose of this study is to examine the position of interoperability of government and corporate portals in technological adoption space in India in terms of three critical dimensions: data integration, process integration and communication integration. Design/methodology/approach -This exploratory study was conducted through a survey questionnaire from 300 portals of government departments and public sector undertakings (PSUs) in India. Data were also collected from portals of Indian companies and the results have been compared with those of the government portals. Findings -The results show that the majority of government portals in India have initiated integration. Second, the portals of Indian companies are performing better than the portals of government and PSUs for achieving an interoperable position. Third, there is high dispersion in level of integration of government portals in India. Practical implications -The portals with the lowest level of integration in government in India will determine when government will actually attain full horizontal integration and hence achieve an interoperable portal as there is high dispersion in level of integration of government portals in India. Also, for achieving an interoperable government portal, an organization needs to focus on the weakest factors of each dimension. Originality/value -This study is the first to examine the position of interoperability in technological adoption space in India. The results lead to a number of recommendations for achieving interoperability for government portals in India. The study also highlights the weakest factors of each dimension that require more improvement than other factors.

Interoperability is an important pre-condition for achieving higher stages of e-government and further ensures that a one stop portal will become a reality. Interoperability results from vertical and horizontal integration. The question arises: How can the level of interoperability and degree of integration be ascertained? This paper suggests a framework. It begins by identifying critical factors necessary for the successful adoption of interoperability technology along three dimensions of integration—process integration, communication integration, and data integration. Factors are formed from a literature review and discussions with webmasters and IT professionals working on portal development in various government departments of India. These factors are useful in further evaluation across the three dimensions and locate the position of a government portal in a technology adoption space. It is then possible to ascertain a portal’s current level of integration sophistication.

Anurag Agrawal and colleagues describe their experience of setting up a readily deployable cargo container-based health center in rural India. Please see later in the article for the Editors' Summary

No abstract