Abstract
In the public sector, large-scale ICT projects are implemented to “enhance a community’s attractiveness for citizens and businesses, as a means to increase the transparency of democratic processes or to increase the efficiency of the administration” (Rombach & Steffens, 2009, p. 1634). Various studies have shown that in many cases
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these high expectations are not met and that large-scale ICT projects cost more time and money than estimated at first: “the overall result is a massive wastage of financial, human and political resources, and an inability to deliver the potential gains from e-government to its beneficiaries” (Heeks, 2006, p. 3). One of the reasons is that current approaches make no distinction regarding the context in which ICT projects are implemented. Chain initiatives are large-scale (ICT) projects that are implemented in the context of a social chain. As this context has its own characteristics, the current general approaches to large-scale ICT projects are not adequate. I define a social chain as: a temporary, but structural, cooperation pattern of a large number of independent parties concerning a dominant chain problem, geared to producing a social product. The dominant chain problem is the operational problem that obstructs the chain parties when trying to achieve the chain challenge and which none of the chain parties can solve on its own (Grijpink, 2010). This dependence among the chain parties is one of the characteristics of social chains, which means that effective cooperation and decision-making do not come about automatically (Gray, 2010; Grijpink, 1997). In this research, I therefore developed an instrument for chain initiatives: an instrument that takes account of the characteristics of social chains and contains criteria for ‘doing the right things’ in that context. With this instrument professionals and researchers can estimate the probability of success of a chain initiative: before, during and after execution. The instrument also points to improvements for the chain initiative and/or the social chain. In this way, the instrument can contribute to producing more chain initiatives that are successful. The instrument has been assessed in a multi-case study. Given the nature of my research, it can only be concluded that the instrument seems valid as the case study has not yielded any results that suggest that the instrument is not valid. The results of my research provide insights into the success and failure of chain initiatives. The use of these results, and specifically the use of the instrument for promising chain initiatives, may contribute to more chain initiatives being successful.
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