The mediating role of ICT in the development of open government

ALDERETE MARÍA VERÓNICA

Journal of Global Information Technology Management

Taylor & Francis Online

Año: 2018

1097-198X

Nowadays, many governments around the world are using the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to build a more transparent, efficient and inclusive relationship with citizens. This new paradigm of open government, which is interrelated with e-government, differs among countries due to technological and socio-economic conditions. The goal of this paper is to examine the mediating role of ICT in the relationship between socio-economic conditions and open government. In particular, we wonder if ICT development represents an intervening variable through which being a wealthy and innovative country may influence the development of open government. Based on a 125 country dataset for the year 2015, we estimate a Structural Equation Model (SEM). Our results suggest that higher levels of economic activity and innovation are associated with higher levels of ICT development, and that higher levels of ICT development are related to higher levels of e-government. Results obtained confirm the simple mediating role of ICT development.