E-government and the emergence of virtual organizations in the public sector

The article focuses on e-government and the emergence of virtual organizations in the public sector. The massive introduction and use of information and communication network technology in public administration has led to the establishment of a complex variety of new, virtual organization forms within and outside the public sector. Electronic government has been an important driver for the emergence of virtual organizations in the public sector. The article focuses on understanding the variety and complexity of virtual organizations in the public sector, which emerge in the slipstream of numerous e-government initiatives. The development of an explorative typology of virtual organizations can help to reduce this variety. Moreover, it can help to identify possible factors and relations between them which account for the similarities and differences between the identified types of virtual organizations. Relevant factors are related to specific characteristics of the ICT-network which is used, the socio-organizational network in which the virtual organization has emerged, and several types of e-government services.