Although vast normative e-government literature supports the assertion that implementation of e-government reduces transaction cost and promotes Foreign Direct Investment; empirical evidence to support this thesis is limited. Even more, there is limited attempt when studying this phenomenon to integrate e-government literature with other literatures in which major constructs of interest are rooted. This article contributes to reducing this gap by establishing a conceptual framework that integrates e-government literature, International Business and Economics literatures as the main fields from which major constructs of interest are grounded. Three Propositions are generated as a guide for a systematic empirical investigation of the phenomenon.

Information and communication technology (ICT)is considered to play an important role to reduce information cost for potential foreign investors. While a growing body of literature has suggested such connections, conceptual clarity is yet to be achieved. This study introduces a conceptual framework based on the Information-theoretic approach and transaction cost perspective to explore how ICT may reduce information cost. To illustrate our proposed framework, we apply it to examine the role of Internet-based information, published by the Investment Promotion Agencies (IPAs) on the information needs for foreign investors intending to invest in Tanzania. The findings indicated that general information on investment opportunities and regulatory entry procedures is mainly accessible through IPA´s web pages. Nevertheless, the findings revealed that more specific information on industry competitiveness is not found, although it is important for strategic investment location choice. Public information is combined with alternative sources of information to meet the information requirement for potential investors. Our findings indicate that Internet-based sources of information can reduce part of the information cost facing foreign investors, if properly organized. Our proposed framework extends the discourse on how ICT may influence information cost for foreign investors and contributes to our knowledge on the impact of ICT in the business sector focusing on the Government to business domain. Based on our findings we propose insights into studying and developing ICT-based services for IPAs in their efforts to attract Foreign Direct Investment.

There are limited studies examining the role of Investment Promotion Agencies (IPA's) and their respective marketing techniques used in attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). Using an exploratory case study approach, this article addresses this research gap by exploring the role of e-government as a promotion technique in eliminating barriers to FDI inflows in Tanzania; particularly barriers related to information accessibility and bureaucratic procedures facing foreign investors in acquiring relevant licenses and business permits. The findings indicate that foreign investors utilize information to create knowledge of business environment in the host country, though some additional information may not be found due to informational specificity of a particular investment project. In addition, the findings indicate that implementation of e-government has reduced some monetary and non-monetary transaction costs of complying with government authorities. The article contributes to the existing body of knowledge in the field of marketing by examining the role of e-government services in the public sector marketing within a macro-marketing domain.

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