Implementation of e-government initiatives: a case study of accessibility upgrades in Chinese municipal government websites

Purpose This study aims to identify Chinese municipal agencies’ and cadres’ drivers to implement government websites’ accessibility upgrades, and to explain how these drivers are interrelated to shape the implementation outcome. Design/methodology/approach The authors conducted a single case study using qualitative interviews, online follow-up conversations, fieldwork observations and policy documents in the capital municipality MD of J Province, East China. The authors analyzed the case from the theoretical perspectives of institutional pressures, organizational capacity and individual intentions. Findings Coercive pressure through policy mandate and benchmark incentivized the responsible agency and cadres in MD to initiate the implementation of the accessibility upgrades and “meet the set targets.” The responsible agency’s enhanced organizational capacity and local cadres’ engagement allowed them to “outperform” as their eventual way of achieving the mandate requirements. The implementation outcome resulted from the interplay of all levels of incentives. Coercive pressure predominantly drove the launch of the upgrade project, meanwhile significantly influencing the organizational- and individual-level incentives that additionally explained the outperformance. Originality/value This study provides a nuanced, in-depth understanding of how sedimented factors and especially their interrelationships drive the implementation of e-government initiatives and shape the implementation outcome in Chinese municipal agencies.