Laurence Brooks
email: laurence.brooks@brunel.ac.uk

M Shahanoor Alam

Designing an Information System for Updating Land Records in Bangladesh: Action Design Ethnographic Research (ADER)

Keywords: Action Design Research, Action Design Ethnographic Research, Land Records Management, Bangladesh Researcher Organizational Action Controlled Experiment

Information Systems (IS) has become a research discipline accommodating and adapting diverse methodologies, methods, and techniques from reference disciplines as well as generating them. Action Design Research (ADR) has been developed as a broad research method, based on empirical study within developed countries. However, there remains a lack of methodologies for studying IS in the complex context of developing counties. This pioneering application of ADR in a developing country context identified that ADR requires additional lenses for understanding this additional complexity. Further, combining ADR with an ethnographic methodological framework has potential complementarity within IS research. This helps the researchers cycle through the problem formulation, design, evaluation, reflection and learning cycles. This paper therefore argues that Action Design Ethnographic Research (ADER) is a potential methodological framework for IS research. While developed from a specific case of land records service in Bangladesh, ADER shows potential as a rigorous methodology for conducting IS research in any complex context.

Introduction

Information Systems (IS) research already draws methodological and theoretical contributions from many reference disciplines [START_REF] Thompson | People, Practice, and Technology: Restoring Giddens' Broader Philosophy to the Study of Information Systems[END_REF]. Anthropology is one of these valuable reference disciplines and ethnography, as a subfield of anthropology which has potential contributions in qualitative studies in IS [START_REF] Nandhakumar | Too Close for Comfort? Distance and Engagement in Interpretive Information Systems Research[END_REF][START_REF] Myers | Investigating Information Systems with Ethnographic Research[END_REF]. Ethnography refers to a paradigm, a methodology and a basket of tools and techniques [START_REF] Geertz | Thick Description: Toward an Interpretive Theory of Culture[END_REF][START_REF] Westbrook | Navigators of the Contemporary: Why Ethnography Matters[END_REF]. As a research methodology, it has been used in IS research for over the last 20 years and played a substantial role in theory building [START_REF] Walsham | Interpretive Case Studies in IS Research: Nature and Method[END_REF][START_REF] Orlikowski | The Duality of Technology: Rethinking the Concept of Technology in Organizations[END_REF]. The nature of ethnographic research is empirical, longitudinal, inductive, long term, participant observation oriented and interventional. Thus ethnographic research is helpful for theory building [START_REF] Orlikowski | The Duality of Technology: Rethinking the Concept of Technology in Organizations[END_REF][START_REF] Orlikowski | Changing Frames: Understanding Technological Change in Organizations[END_REF]; Walsham and Sahay, Fig. 1. Insider and Outside Modes of Inquiry [START_REF] Evered | Alternative Perspectives in The Organizational Sciences: Inquiry from the Inside and Inquiry from the Outside[END_REF]) [START_REF] Evered | Alternative Perspectives in The Organizational Sciences: Inquiry from the Inside and Inquiry from the Outside[END_REF] suggested applying insider and outsider views to the ethnographic perspectives, to understand organizational contexts with different roles and involvement of researchers along with methods, learning and epistemological strands (see figure 1). Both views are complementary to elicit insights of the situation under study.

The outsider view generates research findings usually with quantitative data, questionnaires and passive observation. The insider view generates data by 'being there' and becoming immersed in the organizational activities through participant observation and playing the role of organizational actor. Further, there is the opportunity to examine one situation from different lenses and stances. So, it is possible to derive situational learning and generalized learning. Thus applying both perspectives enhances the validity of analyses and interpretations by bringing the world of interpretations and the world of scientific theory together [START_REF] Schutz | Concept and theory formation in the social sciences[END_REF]. Ethnographic perspectives, therefore, have the potential for understanding organizational contexts with various roles, modes of inquiry, actions from various dimensions and generating both situational and generalized learning. [START_REF] Nandhakumar | Too Close for Comfort? Distance and Engagement in Interpretive Information Systems Research[END_REF] emphasize the ethnographic perspective along with participant observation and argue that though researchers enter into the actors' world, there are a number obstacles, including deceptive behavior, sensitivity, deliberately misleading, dominant perception, actors' inability of expression, to understand their interpretations [START_REF] Nandhakumar | Too Close for Comfort? Distance and Engagement in Interpretive Information Systems Research[END_REF]. Researchers, therefore, need to observe actors' response, note their gesture and watch bodily responses to what's going around them with an engagement [START_REF] Goffman | The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life[END_REF].

Finally, [START_REF] Barley | Technology as an occasion for structuring: evidence from observation of CT Scanners and the social order of radiology departments[END_REF] applied both insider view (emic) and outsider view (etic); the insider view elicits context, practices and way of life from the perspective of participants along with concepts of the native's worldview; the outsider view relies heav-ily on the perspective of the researcher, uses the concepts of social science and aims to analyse the context, practices and ways of life theoretically [START_REF] Barley | Technology as an occasion for structuring: evidence from observation of CT Scanners and the social order of radiology departments[END_REF]. Applying both perspectives gives rich insights but it is difficult to apply them. [START_REF] Barley | Technology as an occasion for structuring: evidence from observation of CT Scanners and the social order of radiology departments[END_REF] suggests two ways: a) taking a collaborating role and b) a commitment to long term involvement.

3

Action Design Ethnographic Research Framework (ADER)

Fig. 2. Ethnographic Perspectives in ADR Process

ADR aims to build artifacts in organizational contexts and to refine them through ongoing use, intervention and evaluation in organizational contexts whereby the ethnographic perspective(s) is a potential lens for understanding it. Thus it can be seen that an ethnographic methodological framework has complementarity with all the stages and activities of ADR (see figure 2). Formulating problems in organizational contexts entails a mutually influential and reciprocal role in shaping artifacts, objective evaluation, emergence of artifacts and learning as organizational actors are significantly relied on to provide understanding from an insider perspective. On the contrary, data driven problems formulation, initial design, on-going evaluation, guided intervention and learning as researcher all come from an outsider perspective. Therefore the ethnographic perspective in ADER (see figure 3) allows for better integration of the inside/outside perspective than traditional ADR alone and can be seen as an extended variant of ADR.

Problem Formulation

ADR formulates problems in organizational contexts drawing from empirical evidence and data driven by end-users and existing technologies [START_REF] Sein | Action Design Research[END_REF].

Researchers' engagement, long term involvement, observation, participant observation and being an actor in the context bring a type of empirical evidence derived from applying the insider view which discovers underlying meanings of organizational contexts that are expressed through actions and artifacts [START_REF] Prasad | Systems of Meaning: Ethnography as a methodology for the study of information technologies[END_REF]. The outsider view applies 'looking on' in the sense of witnessing and examining processes and contexts externally to produce logical meaning and measurement [START_REF] Evered | Alternative Perspectives in The Organizational Sciences: Inquiry from the Inside and Inquiry from the Outside[END_REF]. Consequently, this view allows the researcher to frame data driven problems. ADR also formulates data driven problems because it follows a cyclical process between problems formulation to evaluation stages ie. problem, fix, problem, fix, as if in a 'systems development life-cycle' (see figure 3) [START_REF] Sein | Action Design Research[END_REF][START_REF] Mantei | Incorporating behavioral techniques into the systems development life cycle[END_REF].

Building Intervention and Evaluation (BIE)

This stage iteratively interweaves between three core activities i.e., building artifacts; intervening in organizational settings and evaluating concurrently and objectively [START_REF] Sein | Action Design Research[END_REF]. BIE principles (reciprocal shaping between artifact and organizational contexts; mutual learning between researcher and practitioners; applying ongoing and objective evaluation) require both insider and outsider views. These principles include observation, involvement, interpretation and intervention whereby the insider view elicits insights from them. In contrast, the outsider view is important for these BIE principles for applying the researcher's theory of knowledge according to existing technologies and resources and conducting context free objective evaluation. Researchers' engagement as participant observation (insider view) is significant in information systems design, implementation and use because it sees nothing as surprising [START_REF] Nandhakumar | Development Gain? Participant observation in interpretive management information systems research[END_REF]. It seeks meaning of every observation; what those observations mean and why [START_REF] Kelly | Ethnography: The good, the bad and the ugly[END_REF]. Thus, applying the insider view develops meaningful interpretations from the iterative relation between organizational contexts and designed artifact.

Further, an ethnographic perspective brings forth 'live experience', including behavior, attitudes, practices, roles of actors and how they help to design change supported by local transformation [START_REF] Barab | Critical design ethnography: Designing for change[END_REF]. Applying the insider view, therefore, enhances the mutually influential role between researcher's knowledge and the actors' practices. As [START_REF] Sim | Evaluating the evidence: Lessons from ethnography[END_REF] noted, the ethnographic perspective has the potential to design artifacts and redesign them through contextualizing organizational practices. Furthermore, the insider view provides insights from evaluation in organizational contexts [START_REF] Nedevschi | Bayesian networks: An exploratory tool for understanding ICT adoption[END_REF] because it does not leave actions as: being absurd, peculiar, pointless, irrational, surprising or confusing, rather finds their existing meanings lying in the local context and culture [START_REF] Lee | Integrating positivist and interpretive approaches to organizational research[END_REF]. We refer to it as interpretive subjective evaluation; where subjective does not mean bias, rather it aims to seek contextual meanings and examine how the meanings interact with artifacts. This evaluation aims to reflect the actors view and situated learning from ADER.

On other hand, the outsider view gives an opportunity to conduct a context free and objective evaluation. Moreover, it allows researchers to filter the on-going activities as well as learning through their preset categories, codings that derive factual data and results as an objective evaluation [START_REF] Evered | Alternative Perspectives in The Organizational Sciences: Inquiry from the Inside and Inquiry from the Outside[END_REF]. Although ADER is highly situated, objective evaluation seeks to generalise its outcome. Since the researchers' involvement in organizational context might hinder objective evaluation and give rise to a conflict of interests. Thus the outsider view gives objective and context free evaluation in ADR.

Reflection and Learning

Reflection and learning is derived from formulated problems, theoretical premises and emerged solutions that contribute towards research processes and knowledge [START_REF] Sein | Action Design Research[END_REF]. It applies 'guided emergence' a principle containing two contrasting views 'guided' and 'emergence' [START_REF] Sein | Action Design Research[END_REF]. The former refers to guided intervention i.e. an outsider's view, and the latter displays a sense of organic evolution i.e. an insider's perspective. ADR, therefore, recognizes that understanding emerging artifacts through on-going use requires both insider and outsider views [START_REF] Sein | Action Design Research[END_REF]. It can be seen that organizational contexts, practices and users' roles reshape the initial design of artifacts whereby alone the outsider view/distance relation cannot trace the emerging shape of artifacts because it requires close observation and engagement. However it requires guided intervention with logic, model and theory to redesign the emerged artifacts. Thus, both perspectives enhance the reflection and learning process of ADR.

Formalization of Learning

This stage aims to formalize learning through generalizing the 'situated learning' [START_REF] Van Aken | Management research based on the paradigm of the design sciences: The quest for field-tested and grounded technological rules[END_REF]). The situated nature of ADR outcomes includes organizational change and implementation of an artefact. Researchers, therefore, need to describe organizational outcomes and outline the accomplishments in artefact formalised learning. The ethnographic perspective in IS bridges the gap between academics and practitioners through generating valuable learning and contributing to knowledge [START_REF] Myers | Investigating Information Systems with Ethnographic Research[END_REF]. It provides analyses that are communicable and predictable [START_REF] Sanday | The Ethnographic Paradigm(s)[END_REF]. Organizational outcomes can be best expressed by organizational actors and in order to identify that the researchers' engagement as an actor (insider perspective) is important. Contrary, applying the outsider view transmits situated learning into generalised learning that could be applicable to other similar contexts [START_REF] Evered | Alternative Perspectives in The Organizational Sciences: Inquiry from the Inside and Inquiry from the Outside[END_REF]. The outsider view helps to build a rationalistic model to transmit the situational learning into generalized design principles, and outline the accomplishment in the artifacts from the ADR.

Therefore, the ethnographic perspective fits throughout the stages and activities of ADR with a complementarity towards the end of advancing ADR in complex contexts (see figure 3). They allow the formulation of problems and design artifacts (BIE) in multiple cycles; evaluate the on-going use of artifact from different positions and identifying and transferring learning. More importantly, applying the ethnographic perspectives iteratively in problem formulation and BIE generates significant insights and detailed findings. Thus applying ADR with an ethnographic methodological framework means it is able to draw out an ethnographic description as an outcome that can be seen as [START_REF] Geertz | Thick Description: Toward an Interpretive Theory of Culture[END_REF] thick description. 'Thick description' unfolds multiple layers of meaning held by the members and practices of the organization [START_REF] Nilsson | Organizational Development as Action Research, Ethnography, and Beyond[END_REF]. Notably thick description aims to contribute to knowledge through providing detailed analysis of ADR findings. Therefore ADER is a potential methodological framework for IS studies and it is illustrated with a case of the service for updating land records in Bangladesh.

Data Collection Methods

Both ADR and ethnography seek long term involvements and commitments of researchers. With these notions, this study gathered data from longitudinal, interventional and participant observation oriented approaches and processes. The study was conducted for about 2½ years in a public sector organization in a sub-district of Bangladesh, called Upzila, Land Office, Rooppur (not real name). The study focused on improvements to the service involved in updating land records locally and throughout the country.

The ADER was been initiated by the Office of the Divisional Commissioner, head of the land and revenue administration divisional level. The ADER team comprises of both professional and practitioners. The lead author worked as the Section Officer in the Divisional Commissioner Office and presented the problems updating land records in several meetings, workshops and training sessions with the officers involved. In addition, the lead author took the opportunity to use participant observation arising from his responsibilities i.e., coordinating with the decision makers of this service and the decision implementers of this service.

This ADER was been initiated in October 2009 and the findings tracked until June 2012. Therefore throughout the ADER process, the findings are derived from participant observation and interventions arising from field visits, inspections, official re-ports and documents analyses, workshops, meetings, consultations and training exercises, policy formulation and implementation, all relating to updating land records.

The initial design process was been launched in December, 2009 in just one district. Thereafter nine districts have implemented the initial design in January, 2010. The initial design was further redesigned and that has been implemented throughout the country since April 2010. This paper now focuses on how organizational context has further redesigned the implementation process (the redesign) of the land records updating service in Bangladesh.

ADER Findings

Background

Updating land records is a core service delivery for citizens in Bangladesh. It has been identified as problematic and outdated, a source of corruption and litigations by the government itself, the development partners, practitioners and civil society. Rampant corruption in this service delivery is a barrier to economic growth. In addition to fraud, forgery and physical assaults, some murders took place due to land record litigations, which are also responsible for 80% of all civil cases and 70% of all criminal cases [START_REF] Barakat | Political Economy of Land Litigation in Bangladesh: A Case of Colossal National Wastage[END_REF]. Bangladesh is a populous country with a total of 160 million people, while the average land per person is only 0.22 acre. However, it relies on an agro-economy because agriculture contributes 60% of total GDP. It is noteworthy that land is the only capital and source of livelihood for the majority of people. About 80% of people depend on agriculture and the rate of land ownership transfer is very high. Updating of land records is, thus, a significant service to the citizens.

Updating land records refers to updating the name of the owner of land in record registers after land registration (purchase) or inheritance (either loosing or gaining). This process is called 'mutation'; mutating records from one name to other. This service is delivered from a public sector organization namely the Upazila Land Office (ULO). Upazila refers to a sub-district, the bottom tier of public administration in the country. There are a total of 500 ULOs in the country. The ULO is headed by the Assistant Commissioner of Land (ACL). A ULO comprises of several local union Land Offices (LO) that is headed by a Union Assistant Land Officer (UALO).

There are two ways of updating land records: ULO's initiatives and citizens' application. Firstly, the ULO can update land records on the basis of two information networks: one, receiving a Land Transfer Notice after land registration is completed by the Sub-Registrar Office and the other is a report from a LO. According to the government rules, following land registration a Land Transfer Notice is issued to the ULO for updating the appropriate records. On the other side, where there is the death of a land owner or any change takes place in the type of land, the LO reports to the ULO for the purpose of updating land records. However, functionally, updating land records by ULO's initiative rarely takes place. The ULO, therefore, updates land records on the basis of citizens' applications which require fees and lists of documents; land registration deeds, certified copy of original records, sketch map of the land plots, inheritance certificate from local union council. Thereafter the ULO conduct an initial scrutiny on the fees and supporting documents and ask the concerned LO for its field inspection report. The ACL calls the applicant the first party (or new owner) and the second party, the seller and related individuals, and consults the LO's report and scrutinizes the registers of the ULO. Finally, the ACL either approves the application i.e., updates the land record, or rejects the application i.e., no change in the original details.

Problems Formulation

Citizens' access to this service is complicated because from application submission to service delivery requires a number of documents and processes. The ULO often neither has application forms nor the guidelines on supporting documents and the processes that need to be followed. Therefore, in order to mediate access to this service, several vested interest networks, known as 'bribery networks', have been developed within and beyond the organization which they mediate as informal intermediaries.

Data Driven Problems Formulation

Citizens are not well acquainted with filling out the application form, the exact amount of fees, required documents and to whom and where the application should be submitted and how the service is to be delivered. Even after submission, it's common for the application to go missing or be rejected without any notification. Since access to this service requires filing applications with appropriate documents and a follow up set of processes, it is difficult for citizens to submit an application and track the processes without any actor in the vested interest networksthe middleman, the stamp vendor, lawyers, deed writers and the subordinate staff of ULO or LO.

Context Driven Problems

From the inception of this service it has been kept as a complex set of processes and used as a source of vested interests by the actors within the organization and beyond. Citizens rarely understand the process because there is no information system explaining this service. Even educated citizens enter into this service through the vested interest networks either through buying the application form, using the service to accomplish tasks within the shortest period of time or making possible an impossible or legally challenging case. The actors in the vested interest networks maintain application format, requirements and supporting documents privately and only use them in the case of their vested interests. Further, they expedite this service delivery in the cases of their clients' applications. As a result, applications with vested interests receive the fastest service delivery and all others are kept pending, sometimes for several months.

Therefore, the data driven and problem context can be summed up as the ULO does not have any information systems for citizens; for example, the application form, point of application submission, exact amount of fees, specific list of supporting documents, receipt for application submission, tracking options after submission, dura-tion of service delivery and decision on the application. Whereas the organization failed to develop and maintain the information systems for this service, the actors of the vested interest networks have developed and maintained them. It could be seen as mutually dependent because the vested interest networks maintain the information systems for this service, but the organization is both dependent on them and do not find ways to overcome the problems of vested interests.

Building Interventions and Evaluation

Fieldwork ADER aims to support the design of an IS to address the problems with and enhance citizens' access to the land records management service, to eradicate the vested interest networks. To this end, two pieces of fieldwork took place (one for 2½ months and one for 2 months) as well as relevant documents and reports were reviewed. In addition, three interactive workshops were arranged, for reciprocal consultations with the officers and staff of this service delivery. As a result, a number of components have been designed.

Initial Design

Initially, through the ADER a single application form was developed that aims to enhance citizens' access to this service through the organizational process, rather than through the vested interest networks. The newly designed application form has been kept as simple and informative as possible for citizens. Anyone with basic literacy and writing would be able to fill in the form. The application form contains the necessary information and instructions relating to this service deliverywith no fee for the application form; updating land records fee BDT 250.00; and 30 working days duration for service delivery. All this information is printed on the opposite side of the application form. The application form has been divided into two parts: the first part is filled in by the citizens and the second part is the acknowledgement of application receipt and for issuing an application ID. In addition, the date of the hearing is given on receipt of the application. Thus the initial design of the application form has tracking options. Nearly all the tracking information contains the acknowledgement receipt of the application form. This is issued to the applicant at submission by the ULO staff.

On-going Use and Evaluation

This initial design was implemented in 10 districts for about five months. During this period the ADER team closely observed and evaluated the on-going use and implementation. Since the newly designed application form is available and given freely by the ULO, it has attracted citizens to come to the ULO. Consequently, the practice of submitting and mediating citizens' applications by the actors of the vested interest networks has been significantly reduced compared to the previous system. Further-more, observation and empirical findings showed that 1 / 3 of the applicants' submitted applications directly to the ULO while previously it was less than 1 / 10 .

However, it has not become possible to uproot the vested interest networks totally. While implementing the newly designed application form, the actors of the vested interest networks found that their application forms, the previous one, are no longer required for this service. The actors beyond the organizational process are involved in assisting in filling in the form for illiterate people, processing the supporting papers and submitting applications on behalf of their clients in the newly designed system.

Equally, the actors both within the organization and beyond reprint/copy the newly designed form for their clients. Consequently, they shift from their old version of the application form to the newly designed one. As a result, the benefits of the new system do not fully reach the citizens because it has been also partially utilized by the vested interest networks. While a significant number of citizens submit their application by themselves, applications from vested interest networks receive better and quicker service delivery than the rest.

Reflection and Learning: Emergence of Artifacts.

The on-going use of the new system reflects two aspects: one, the actors in the vested interest networks remain visible through filling in and submitting the application forms for illiterate people. Secondly they are involved in processing papers and expediting the service delivery for their clients. Since the application submission process did not exclude them from submission of applications, they continue their alternative route. Further, the long list of supporting documents means the application remains a complicated process, especially for illiterate and inexperienced citizens. Thus a section of citizens need to rely on the vested interest networks to appropriately arrange the list of supporting documents. Therefore, the initial design has been reshaped through on-going use.

Redesign: Guided Intervention

From the initial design and its on-going use, three things have emerged as artifacts that reshaped the initial designa) submitting applications for their clients; b) assisting in filling and arranging complex set of supporting documents and c) expediting applications with the vested interests. In order to address them, guided interventions were made.

Firstly, receiving applications only from the applicant or his/her representative is one way to exclude the vested interest networks. Therefore, the application form has been redesigned so that the applicant needs to put his/her or his/her representative's photo on the application. If an applicant fails to submit his/her application, s/he could nominate a competent representative related to his family to the ULO for application submission.

Secondly, the list of supporting documents has been reduced and simplified so that citizens' do not need to rely on actors of the vested interest networks for arranging them. To this end, the supporting documents have been documents redesigned in such a way that if updating of the land record (mutation) has been done previously, then only that updated record is needed for the supporting document, nothing else. It makes it easier for citizens to process their application by themselves. Further, if there is any lack of supporting documents with applications, the applicant could submit them during the hearing. This reduces rejection of applications submitted by citizens.

Thirdly, the first come first served rule has been introduced in order to prevent the process of expediting applications by vested interests. Since every application is to be given an ID number during its submission by the ULO, this also provides the basis for a chronological order. In addition, it has been taken as policy to complete the application within 30 working days. Together, these interventions have given citizens' easy access and greater reliability.

Subjective Evaluation.

However, within a year of implementation the redesigned system has also been further reshaped by the vested interest networks. Firstly although it is mandatory to submit the application with the applicant/representative photograph on the application form, it could be faked or be one of the actors from the vested interest networks. Mainly the actors from the vested interest networks from outside of the organization are involved in the process of fake photograph pasting on the applications that they submit. While an applicant comes into contact with actors of the vested interest networks, either it is the requirement of the applicant or it is the offer of the actor of vested interest networks to manage every process on their behalf. It provides greater profit to the actors and less hassle to the applicant for the vested interest network actors to process everything on behalf of the applicants.

In addition, the vested interest networks reshaped the chronological order of the process in order to deliver this service. Since, the application receipt register is maintained manually it is possible to tamper with application IDs and receiving dates. The application ID and date of receipt become significant because of the 'first come first served' system.

Reflection and Learning: Emergence and Intervention

Adding a photograph to the application aims to ensure that only the applicant could submit an application. With the help of a photograph, it should be easy to identify whether s/he is an applicant or not. However, the issue of the photograph has been kept outside the service delivery process because it does not have any other role and reflection in the record updating process. Equally, a paper-based and manual receipt register has allowed the opportunity for tampering with the date of receipt and the chronology of application ID number. The staff have several means and techniques to do this. From observation, it appeared that while issuing an application receipt, the staff allocates the application ID number to the application but they put all the applications' ID number into the register once a week or fortnightly. This allows them to manipulate the chronological order of the service delivery.

5.5

Formalization of Learning

The initial design was implemented for 5 months in 10 administrative districts in Khulna division. Following the Ministry of Land engagement with this ADER project a divisional level workshop was conducted with ACLs by the researcher; this enabled the decision making officers and the Secretary of the Ministry of Land to share their ideas and learning derived from the initial design. On the basis of the initial design and reciprocal learning from the 10 districts, the redesigned process has been issued as an official circular for the whole county by the Ministry of Land. The redesigned process has been in operation since May 2010.

Learning by organizational actors.

The actors in the vested interest networks belong within the organizational process and those beyond the organizational process are mutually dependent on each other in intra and inter dimensions (ULO staff with citizens; ULO-LO staff; ULO staff). So, the initial design and the redesign process have been reshaped through the intra-action within the organizational staff and mutual interaction between the organizational staff and the other actors in the vested interest networks. Incorporating the applicants photograph has played a small role in excluding the actors of the vested interest networks from the application submission process because the identifier, the staff of ULO and user of the fake photograph in the application and the actors of the vested interest networks have mutual vested interests. Similarly, expediting service delivery for applications having vested interests is taking place through their mutual interaction. Therefore, the actors of vested interest networks in this service shift their position according to shifting of the design and redesign of the service process.

Empirical outcomes

The initial design and redesign process has significantly increased citizens' direct access to this service delivery. The empirical findings show that about ½ of the total applications are now submitted by citizens to the ULO, compared with before the initial ADER redesign process. On the other hand, the redesigned process has ensured service delivery for all applications within 30 working days compared with previously where there was no time frame and consequently at least 1 / 3 of the applications took more than 90 working days. Further the delays often took place in the cases of weaker sections of society. The redesigned process has simplified the application submission and tracking process, empowered the citizens through putting guidelines and necessary information with the application form and achieved chronological order in service delivery, to some extent. However, the limitation of the redesigned process is that there is no scope for prioritizing service delivery. It has both advantages i.e., visibly no scope of discrimination; and disadvantages i.e., no scope to prioritize service delivery. Consequently, prioritizing service delivery has become a hidden process through vested interest networks and the citizens need to pay a significant extra amount ('bribe') for the priori-tized service. Further, the centralized application submission process in the ULO and the manual receipt register still do not stop tampering with the chronological order.

7

Future Design

There are many socio-economic reasons behind the existence of the vested interest networks. The paper has addressed only a few, others include: low paid organizational staff; low literacy rates; complicated records; the presence of the actors in the vested interest networks outside the organization rooted in socio-political contexts and connected with organizational staff. Removing the vested interests overnight throughout the system is difficult. It requires long term strategic interventions through iterative design and redesign of this service delivery process.

The ADER generalized a list of learning points: the distance of the relationship between the service provider and the service recipients; installing technology to prevent and reduce intervention from vested interests networks in reshaping of the design process and reducing tampering in application ID as well as chronology of the service; and decentralization of the application submission process. On the basis of the generalized learning, a model (see figure 4) can be framed for further design of this service. Since the literacy rate is low, most of the citizens would require a mediator to access this service. Therefore technology mediated actors as intermediaries could help to remove the actors of the vested interest networks. They would be able to reduce citizens' interaction with service providers. Further, the country already has a network of 4501 telecentres across the rural areas. The telecentres could be technology mediated intermediaries in this service. In this way it is possible to decentralize the submission process, stop tampering and break chronological disorder. Updates could be received through SMS service or online tracking from the telecentres. Furthermore, the processed service is possible to deliver through the post, since there is countrywide public postal coverage.

The telecentres have already been mediating the service delivery of certified copies of land records to the citizens from the Deputy Commissioners office. Thus, to decentralize the application submission through the telecentres is compatible. To this end, there needs to be interfaces between the telecentres, the ULOs and the postal service developed.

Further, the Ministry of Land should revise the concept of chronological order service delivery because there should be a provision for urgent service delivery in emergency situations. In the case of urgent service, citizens are ready to pay 10-20 times higher than the usual fee to the government, which they currently pay as a bribe. Therefore, the government income would increase, the citizens would receive better service delivery and whereby incentives for the low paid service delivery staff might be possible.

Conclusion

This paper applied ADR together with an ethnographic methodological framework in order to gain a deeper understanding of the organizational contexts around updating land records in Bangladesh. It has applied an iterative process of problem formulation and design (BIE). ADR originally shared many of its activities and principles latently with an ethnographic perspective. Applying ADR in a developing country, it is clear that while understanding organizational contexts and building artifacts in organizational contexts remains unattainable and challenging due to the complex contexts, informal practices dominate over the organizational rules and the design processes. Thus applying ADR together with an ethnographic methodological framework helps to elicit insights into the organizational context. More importantly, an ethnographic methodological framework allows researchers to iterate throughout the ADR process. For instance, it gives an opportunity to formulate problems and interact with BIE through multiple cycles such that the context problems can be formulated from the data i.e. rather than relying on the researchers' knowledge and perceptions, the problem can be formulated through empirical evidence arising from engagement and observation. Further, understanding on-going use and redesign of artifacts is challenging in developing countries where practices are diverse, hidden and deliberately deceptive and where the researchers' engagement with the insider view is potentially very powerful. An objective evaluation is often helpful in the case of interventional research, thus applying an outsider viewpoint helps to conduct context free evaluation. However, the insider view also brings forth the researchers' reflection that could be seen as subjective evaluation. Finally, ADER has the potential to identify learning and transfer it to the practitioners through model building. Although conducting ADER is challenging because it requires long term involvement, commitment and skills, it has the potential to provide valuable ethnographic analysis i.e. 'thick description', for both IS practitioners and IS professionals.

Fig. 3 .

 3 Fig. 3. Action Design Ethnographic Research (Adapted from[START_REF] Sein | Action Design Research[END_REF]

  Fig. 4. Model for Further Design of Land Records Update in Bangladesh


Vincent Homburg
email: homburg@fsw.eur.nl

Andres Dijkshoorn
email: andres.dijkshoorn@novay.nl

Persuasive Pressures in the Adoption of E-Government

Keywords: e-government, adoption, diffusion, public sector, public management, institutions, channels of persuasion

ou non, émanant des établissements d'enseignement et de recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires publics ou privés.

Introduction

In many western countries, it is especially local governments that are developing one-stop shops that serve as a point-of-entry to the whole range of government [START_REF] Ling | Delivering joined-up government in the UK: dimensions, issues and problems[END_REF][START_REF] Ho | Reinventing local governments and the E-government initiative[END_REF]. Some contributions in the literature present high hopes of 'transformation' of the public sector (Weerakkoddy & Reddick, 2013). The actual implementation and take-up of the e-government phenomenon by public sector organizations, however, has lagged behind policy ambitions and rhetoric of transformation, reform and re-engineering [START_REF] Moon | The evolution of E-government among municipalities: Rhetoric or reality?[END_REF][START_REF] Homburg | Diffusion of Personalized E-Government Services among Dutch Municipalities (An Empirical Investigation and Explanation)[END_REF]. In trying to explain the actual diffusion of e-government, various empirical studies have identified city size, citizen demand, organizational structure, geographic location and capacity (see Table 1 for details of the literature reviewed) as the most important determinants of egovernment adoption by public sector organizations. Implicit in the explanations that are featured by these authors seems to be the idea that public sector organizationsas organizations in generalare rational, utility-maximizing entities. In order for these organizations to survive, they may adopt innovative ideas and technologies, but the empirical evidence suggests they are sometimes hampered by the identified determinants. Such a rational explanation suffers from two weaknesses.

First, researchers working in the burgeoning institutional perspective have asserted that organizations in general are not entities that necessarily maximize efficiency and effectiveness, but rather accept and follow social norms, and seek long-term survival through legitimacy rather than efficiency and effectiveness (Orlikowksi & Barley, 2001;[START_REF] Mignerat | Positioning the institutional perspective in information systems research[END_REF]. [START_REF] Zorn | Institutional and Noninstitutional Influences on Information and Communication Technology Adoption and Use Among Nonprofit Organizations[END_REF] have argued that, especially for non-and not-for-profit organizations, technological innovations are a means for establishing legitimacy in the eyes of key stakeholders as much as they are means for enhancing operational efficiency. [START_REF] Frumkin | Institutional isomorphism and public sector organizations[END_REF] indicate that institutional pressures to adopt specific innovations are very relevant for public sector organizations.

Table 1: literature review of explanatory e-government studies

Determinants of e-government adoption Author(s)

City size [START_REF] Moon | The evolution of E-government among municipalities: Rhetoric or reality?[END_REF]; [START_REF] Reddick | Empirical models of E-government growth in local governments[END_REF]; [START_REF] Moon | Does managerial orientation matter? The adoption of reinventing government and e-government at the municipal level[END_REF]; [START_REF] Norris | Advancing E-government at the grassroots: Tortoise or hare?[END_REF]; Homburg and Dijkshoorn (2011) Citizen demand (perceived usefulness) [START_REF] Holden | Electronic government at the local level[END_REF]; [START_REF] Reddick | Empirical models of E-government growth in local governments[END_REF]; [START_REF] Gilbert | Barriers and benefits in the adoption of egovernment[END_REF]; [START_REF] Horst | Perceived usefulness, personal experiences, risk perception and trust as determinants of adoption of e-government services in the Netherlands[END_REF] Organizational structure [START_REF] Moon | The evolution of E-government among municipalities: Rhetoric or reality?[END_REF]; [START_REF] Reddick | Empirical models of E-government growth in local governments[END_REF]; [START_REF] Holden | Electronic government at the local level[END_REF]; Geographic location [START_REF] Holden | Electronic government at the local level[END_REF]; [START_REF] Reddick | Empirical models of E-government growth in local governments[END_REF]; Norris and Moon (2005) Managerial, financial and technological capacity [START_REF] Reddick | Empirical models of E-government growth in local governments[END_REF][START_REF] Reddick | Factors that explain the perceived effectiveness of E-government: A survey of united states city government information technology directors[END_REF]; [START_REF] Moon | Does managerial orientation matter? The adoption of reinventing government and e-government at the municipal level[END_REF] Second, there seems to be an underemphasis in the literature on how the process of innovation looks like. In rational models of adoption and diffusion (e.g. [START_REF] Rogers | Diffusion of innovations[END_REF], potential adopters figure as rather passive entities, adapting to prevailing norms of efficiency, without paying attention to ways in which human actors reflect on external pressure to behave in a particular way, nor to the types of responses human actors display in decision-making processes regarding the decision to adopt or not adopt a specific technology. In short, with the exception of studies by theorists like Orlikowksi (2000), Cziarniawska and Sevon (2005), Bekkers and Homburg (2005) and [START_REF] Homburg | A tale of two trajectories: How spatial data infrastructures travel in time and space[END_REF], 'agency' seems to be lacking in existing explanations (see also Orlikowksi & Barley, 2001). Therefore, questions like why public sector organizations actually adopt (or fail to adopt) e-government innovations, and how organizations actually learn to innovate, are scarcely given attention.

In this paper, the research question is how the actual adoption of e-government can be explained. Our intention is that, by focusing on 'agency' alongside 'structure' (Orlikowksi and Barley, 2001), and by emphasizing norms, values and taken for granted assumptions other than efficiency and utility-maximization alone, more light will be shed on the process of technological and organizational change. The analysis reported

Related Research: The Theoretical Antecedents of Diffusion

Diffusion of a new idea, product or service is defined as the spread of its use in a population of potential adopters [START_REF] Rogers | Diffusion of innovations[END_REF][START_REF] King | Institutional factors in information technology innovation[END_REF]. The process of diffusion has been linked to characteristics of the innovation itself, the social system (community of potential adopters), channels of communication, and time [START_REF] Rogers | Diffusion of innovations[END_REF]. Given the lack of a rigorous theory that acknowledges the embeddedness of egovernment diffusion processes by municipalities in the larger context of governance (including central-local relationships and the activities of outreach programs), we scanned and searched related concepts in the organizational sociology and institutional theory disciplines -two related literature streams that explicitly address how organizations absorb prevailing ideas from their environments into their operations and structures. However, this literature tends to be relatively abstract, and does not address the diffusion of personalized e-government in the specific context of municipalities.

Advancements in the discipline of organizational sociology in recent decades (Di-Maggio and Powell, 1983;[START_REF] Tolbert | The Institutionalization of Institutional Theory[END_REF] have highlighted the significance of the professional and/or legal rules, cognitive structures, norms and the prevailing values in which innovation takes place. Institutionalism emphasizes the per-suasive control over the practices, beliefs and belief systems of individuals or organizations through an institution's sway [START_REF] Kimberley | Issues in the Creation of Organizations: Initiation, Innocation and Institutionalization[END_REF][START_REF] King | Institutional factors in information technology innovation[END_REF]. Persuasion can be achieved not only through directives, but also through more gentle but nevertheless potentially convincing means such as deploying specific knowledge, subsidizing activities deemed 'appropriate' by national government, standard-setting, raising awareness and generally promoting specific technologies [START_REF] King | Institutional factors in information technology innovation[END_REF]. Moreover, [START_REF] Venkatraman | The Adoption of Corporate Governance Mechanisms: A Test of Competing Diffusion Models[END_REF] have stated that persuasion can occur both through vertical channels of communication (initiated by actors outside the set of potential adopters, such as central government; see also [START_REF] Moon | Can state government actions affect innovation and its diffusion?: An extended communication model and empirical test[END_REF][START_REF] Bobrowski | Internal and external interorganizational relationships and their impact on the adoption of new technology: An exploratory study[END_REF] as well as through processes of mimicking and 'word-of-mouth' diffusion [START_REF] Wang | Does government effort or citizen word-of-mouth determine egovernment service diffusion?[END_REF] involving communication, interaction and persuasion among potential adopters [START_REF] Dimaggio | The iron cage revisited: Institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields[END_REF].

The organizational sociology and institutional theory literatures are helpful in identifying an organization's environment as a source of 'pressure' for organizations to behave in a particular way [START_REF] Suchman | Managing Legitimacy: Strategic and Institutional Approaches[END_REF]. Nevertheless, these literature streams do not explicitly address how, through 'pressure', innovations are diffused among organizations. Additional theoretical guidance related to this issue is provided by the socalled Scandinavian Institutionalism [START_REF] Czarniawska | Global ideas: How ideas, objects and practices travel in the global economy[END_REF]. This school of thought sees innovations as 'ideas' insofar as they can be viewed as artifacts. In order for ideas (such as 'personalization') to spread (using either horizontal or vertical channels of communication) they must be translated into, or associated with, a success story, image or even a myth. During its travel, the idea itself is likely to change [START_REF] Czarniawska | Global ideas: How ideas, objects and practices travel in the global economy[END_REF]. As such, the idea of translation is a much more complex concept than the notions of 'diffusion, 'adoption, 'mimicry' and 'direction' suggest, and involves various phases in which so-called change agents (Caldwell, 1996) are actively engaged in the process of adoption. Agency in the process of translation takes place in horizontal as well as vertical modes of persuasion, and change agents (experts, boundary-spanning agents, consultants, knowledge brokers etc.) may operate on both the supply and the demand sides of the translation [START_REF] King | Institutional factors in information technology innovation[END_REF].

To sum up, we draw on concepts selected from organizational sociology and institutional theories, such as horizontal and vertical 'persuasive' pressures in the form of beliefs, cognitive structures, norms and values. Scandinavian Institutionalism adds the aspect of 'agency' to this: diffusion is not a deterministic process but an intricate social process that involves translation activities by experts, boundary-spanning agents and knowledge brokers. At this moment, however, there is no complete theory available that fully explains the diffusion process.

Methods and Data

In order to explain the diffusion of personalized e-government services, we first define our population of interest, that is, the set of potential adopters of the innovation being scrutinized: personalized e-government. We chose to analyze diffusion within one national jurisdiction (in our case, the Netherlands), and our first step was to describe the diffusion pattern of personalized e-government services over a four-year period (2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010) delineated by two consecutive municipal elections. For this purpose, we used an existing dataset that is assembled annually by the Dutch 'Government has an answer' project. This project monitors directly observable characteristics of e-government initiatives by Dutch ministries, provinces, municipalities and water regulatory authorities, and annually reports its findings.

In line with our objective to further extend the e-government body of knowledge (that is, to actually build theory), we first described general trends in a population of 441 municipalities1 and then, as a second step, we selected ten municipalities for an in-depth analysis of adoption processes. As the e-government literature consistently reports city size as being a major determinant of e-government adoption (see Table 1; see also [START_REF] Reddick | Empirical models of E-government growth in local governments[END_REF], from the 2008 data we selected both adopters ('early adopters') as well as non-adopters ('laggards') from substrata, based on city size, of the population (see table 2 for a list of the selected municipalities). In each of the selected municipalities, qualitative interviews were held with key stakeholders such as council members, city managers, senior ICT managers and managers of public service provision. The starting point for the interviews was a topic list through which it was attempted to identify the antecedents, critical events, ongoing activities and interactions with internal and external stakeholders in relation to e-government and public service delivery. All the interviews were recorded, transcribed and analyzed 2 using back-and-forth coding techniques 3 . Following recommended practices for qualitative research [START_REF] Miles | Qualitative data analysis[END_REF][START_REF] Patton | Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods[END_REF], data analysis was conducted in parallel with data gathering, starting with the constructs that emerged from the theoretical antecedents of diffusion. In an iterative process, construct categories were refined, added or combined, and new categories sometimes led to new constructs being identified in the empirical data. In the analysis, both the prevalence of categories of empirical constructs are presented (which are identified as being values of categorical variables), as well as illustrative quotes that serve to furthermore illustrate processes of adoption and diffusion. Furthermore, the five 'non-adopter' cases were compared to the 'adopter'-cases based on the occurrence of specific, coded constructs or themes. As a final step, using both theoretical plausibility and induction, relationships between constructs were made explicit: first through 'conjectures' (statements that, through induction, follow from empirical observations, patterns and theoretical analogy), and second through including concepts and relationships in a conceptual framework for understanding the adoption of personalized e-government. In doing so, it is attempted to actually contribute to induction (defined as distilling variables and explanatory relations from observed empirical patterns) in a transparent way, consistent with sound principles of qualitative research methodology [START_REF] Patton | Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods[END_REF][START_REF] Bessant | Using computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software to develop a grounded theory project[END_REF].

5

Analysis: Explaining the Diffusion of Personalized E-Government

Description of personalized e-government services in Dutch municipalities

Table 3 lists the prevalence of certain attributes of personalized electronic service delivery by Dutch municipalities in the years 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009. Overall, in the period covered, there is an increase in the offered possibility of using DigiD4 authentication (from 20.7% in 2006 to 88.2% in 2009) and on-line payments (from 15.9% in 2006 to 80% in 2009). The growth of possibilities for receiving personalized newsletters, using pre-completed forms, assessing personalized policy consequences and using personalized counters lagged somewhat.

Pressure: persuasive influence on adoption decisions

We identified various categories of pressure (see Table 4) as sources of 'pressure' on decisions to adopt personalized e-government services. Most prominent was the perceived expectations of citizens. As one councillor phrased it:

"… a clamor for service provision, less bureaucracy, transparency: that is external pressure, as I perceive it. (…) Simply because society does not tolerate other kinds of organizational behavior …" (Councillor)

Another form of influence that was mentioned quite frequently was the existence of benchmarks against which municipalities can be judged. The fact that municipalities keep a sharp eye on benchmarks and rankings sometimes results in somewhat perverse incentives to adopt personalized services, such as one respondent noted:

"Our decision to implement personalized service delivery was due to our low ranking … Our councillor wanted to improve our ranking, and we found out that we could improve our ranking quite easily by implementing a Personalized Internet Page … and so we did" (Project manager).

To summarize, what can be witnessed is that, in line with institutional theory (Di-Maggio and Powell, 1983;[START_REF] Ashworth | Escape from the iron cage? organizational change and isomorphic pressures in the public sector[END_REF][START_REF] Lai | Institutional isomorphism and the adoption of information technology for supply chain management[END_REF], all the municipalities reported perceiving persuasive pressure to adopt personalization measures, both from outside the set of potential adopters (referring to norms to conform to citizens' needs, or to be receptive towards national initiatives) as well as from within the set of potential adopters (referring to the norm to excel in relation to one's peers). Adopters are associated with a higher perceived persuasive pressure than non-adopters. The abovementioned observations lead us to formulate the conjectures 1A and 1B.

Conjecture 1A: Municipalities experience environmental pressures that persuade them to adopt personalized electronic service delivery.

Conjecture 1B: Perceptions of persuasive pressure are reported more frequently by adopters than by non-adopters.

5.3

Organizational search: scanning for knowledge, experiences and courses of action

Respondents from the municipalities reported that perceptions of persuasive pressure were followed by organizational searching and scanning activities, through which municipalities attempted to seek, identify and choose relevant knowledge, experiences and courses of action (see also Levinthal and March, 1982;[START_REF] Tidd | Managing innovation[END_REF]. One respondent clearly illustrated how municipalities react to pressure:

"One member of our support staff made an inventory of associations that staff members are participating in, and she managed to compile a list of three or four pages…" (Manager of service provision) Typical targets for search and scan operations are forums and national outreach programs, companies and financial institutions, other municipalities generally, municipalities with which the municipality has an alliance, and within the organization itself (see Table 5). Respondents reported that pressure did not directly result in new connections with other organizations, but rather that it resulted in more intensive contact with forums and associations (for instance, the Public Service Provision Managers' Association, the Association of Dutch Municipalities, and also outreach programs such as GovUnited and DIMPACT) with which one was already involved. As one public manager reported: "We meet each other at meetings of municipalities with 100 000+ residents. One talks to others, exchanges experiences, we report our practices, and listen to other ideas … in this way, we converge on similar solutions as we all offer similar services" (Manager Population Affairs and Taxes)

One respondent explained how one's own organization could serve as a source of relevant knowledge (see also [START_REF] Isabella | Evolving interpretations as a change unfolds -how managers construe key organizational events[END_REF]:

"It happened partly due to one of our developers (…) She said she had knowledge of how personalized counters could be implemented but, until then, she had no time to work on them. She said it could be realized given that we already owned the necessary software packages -and she could develop it further. So we felt we were quite lucky to have such a developer who was able to build these facilities…" (Program manager)

To summarize, in all the selected municipalities we witnessed how pressure was followed by organizational search activities, both in the external environment, as well as in existing alliances and within one's own organization for solutions and inspiration that might already be available. It can also be concluded that both adopters and non-adopters seek and scan for relevant knowledge in national forums, outreach initiatives and companies, but that adopters more frequently report seeking out ideas, inspiration and solutions in alliances, other (often similar) municipalities and their own organization than non-adopters do. These observations lead us to formulate a second pair of conjectures (2A and 2B).

Conjecture 2A: Municipalities respond to persuasive external pressure by searching and scanning for knowledge, inspiration and suggested courses of action related to personalized electronic service delivery.

Conjecture 2B: Searching and scanning activities are more prevalent in adopters than in non-adopters.

Framing: translating pressure into local priorities and opportunities

According to [START_REF] Sahlin | Circulating ideas: Imitation, translation and editing[END_REF] see also Silva and Hirscheim, 2007), and in line with the Scandinavian Institutionalism mentioned in the discussion on theoretical antecedents of diffusion, knowledge and ideas cannot simply be transfused from one organization to the other: rather, ideas, concepts and knowledge has to be repackaged and re-embedded [START_REF] Isabella | Evolving interpretations as a change unfolds -how managers construe key organizational events[END_REF][START_REF] Sahlin | Circulating ideas: Imitation, translation and editing[END_REF]. In our field study, respondents explained that comparable ideas and 'chunks' of knowledge on personalization were framed completely differently in various adopting organizations (see Table 6 for a summary). Personalization was sometimes framed in terms of:  A precursor to an organization becoming a service champion (enabling genuine citizen-centric service delivery);  A means for achieving efficiency ("If the processes are well-organized, I am convinced that in the long run we can do without large numbers of staff" , Councillor);  Boosting reputation ("We think that we, being part of a high technology region, are obliged to modernize our service delivery", Head of Customer Relations Department); and  Exerting control ("Now the focus is on the front office … but in the near future we intend to reengineer processes in the back office as well, so as to simplify and speed up processes…", Project Manager Service Delivery). Overall, we conclude that persuasive pressures are actively framed by stakeholders so as to appeal to local priorities and ambitions, which are found to be enhancing citizen orientation, organizational efficiency and reputation (see also [START_REF] Deephouse | Legitimacy in Organizational Institutionalisation[END_REF]. These findings result in conjectures 3A and 3B.

Conjecture 3A: In municipalities, persuasive pressure and sought knowledge are actively framed in order to legitimize the adoption of personalized e-government.

Conjecture 3B:

Framing occurs more frequently in adopters than in non-adopters.

Activation triggers: enabling episodic changes

From the transcripts of the various interviews, we distilled concepts that did not directly affect adoption but that, nevertheless, can be interpreted as being important in explaining adoption. Activation triggers of various kinds (coined discrepant events by Tyre and Orlikowksi (1994); see also [START_REF] Kim | Crisis construction and organizational learning: Capability building in catching-up at hyundai motor[END_REF]; [START_REF] Zahra | Absorptive capacity: A review, reconceptualization, and extension[END_REF]; [START_REF] Tidd | Managing innovation[END_REF]) were reported by respondents as moderating the impact of persuasive pressures. [START_REF] Van Waarden | Turning tracks? Path dependency, technological paradigm shifts, and organizational and institutional change[END_REF] see activation triggers as precursors of episodic as opposed to more linear forms of diffusion. In our study, we came across general shocks, staff changes and organizational mergers as activation triggers (see Table 7). One clear example of an activation trigger was a firework factory exploding in the municipality of Enschede. This triggered a political crisis and, in the subsequent reorganization, personalized service delivery was seen as an opportunity to help shape the new organization. Respondents also mentioned new members of staff. As one respondent explained:

"With new members of staff, new ideas and new energy entered our organization (…). A new city manager, ICT developers, new departmental managers: they all managed to get up to speed with evolving developments" (Head of Service Delivery)

The merging of municipalities was also reported as a trigger event that helped boost ongoing developments. The idea of service delivery in general, and the more advanced forms of personalized e-government in particular, were embraced by some stakeholders as helping to shape the identity of a new municipal organization and to get away from the pre-existing local identities of the former smaller municipalities. The above activation triggers were reported more often by respondents from adopting councils than by respondents from non-adopters (see Table 7; see also conjectures 4A and 4B).

Conjecture 4A: External trigger events moderate the impact of perceived persuasive pressure on organizational searching and scanning activities.

Conjecture 4B: External trigger events are reported more frequently by adopters than by non-adopters.

Social integration mechanisms: translating and framing by actors

From fieldwork observations, and informed by our theoretical discussion of Scandinavian Institutionalism, we could see that translation, transfusion and repackaging of knowledge and ideas does not take place in a vacuum, but is a social integration process in which specific actors play a role [START_REF] Czarniawska | Global ideas: How ideas, objects and practices travel in the global economy[END_REF]; see also [START_REF] Pawlowski | Bridging User Organizations: Knowledge Brokering and the Work of Information Technology Professionals[END_REF]. Szulanski (1996, p. 29) states that "as time passes, a shared history of jointly utilizing the transferred knowledge is built up in the recipient, actions and actors become typified, and types of actions are associated with types of actors".

The actual framing, transformation and transfusion of ideas and knowledge, that occurs between the processes of organizational searching and scanning and the framing of ideas, involves various social integration processes. An example was given by one respondent who commented: "… John Doe, of Consulting Inc5 , he is a remarkable character. He has access to senior management levels, where normally no-one understands the potential of modern ICTs. However, he is able to come up with brilliant applications, stories and examples…" (Program manager)

In our study, we identified three types of social integration: activities by in-house innovation champions, activities involving knowledge brokers and staff exchanges (see Table 8). The importance of innovation champions can be illustrated by means of a quote which identifies a specific innovation champion:

"…the idea of personalization, that was more or less Erik's business. Our councillor was never a digital enthusiast, and despite limited resources we managed to make things happen. And that was due to the persistence of Erik, who kept on fighting, although the councillor said that he'd never succeed…" (ICT policy advisor).

Staff exchange was also mentioned as a moderator of adoption (in line with [START_REF] Mignerat | Positioning the institutional perspective in information systems research[END_REF]. One respondent explained: "… We moved on when a member of Enschede's staff temporarily joined our organization. Due to personal circumstances, he was able to stay for a while in the Province of Noord-Brabant and we were able to make use of his experience. That helped quite a lot" (Departmental Manager Service Operations).

It is especially through these kinds of integration mechanisms that ideas and knowledge are actually transfused, translated and framed rather than merely being imitated [START_REF] Howell | Individual differences, environmental scanning, innovation framing, and champion behavior: Key predictors of project performance[END_REF]; see also Bressant and Rush, 1995;[START_REF] Rice | Reinvention in the innovation process[END_REF][START_REF] Sahlin | Circulating ideas: Imitation, translation and editing[END_REF]Silva and Hirscheim, 2007). These observations lead us to identify conjectures 5A and 5B.

Conjecture 5A: Knowledge gathered on personalized e-government services is spread and organizationally embedded through the activities of innovation champions, knowledge brokers and temporarily assigned staff members.

Conjecture 5B: Activities aimed at integrating the knowledge gathered within municipalities are more prevalent in adopters than in non-adopters.

Synthesis: Conjectures and Explanatory Model

The findings from this study provide a detailed account of how persuasive pressure is channeled within organizations, and of how various processes (searching and seeking, framing) and moderators (external shocks, social integration) are related to the adoption of personalized electronic service delivery. The conjectures can, through a process of induction, be included in graphic model that displays the processes of persuasion at work. We identify activation triggers and social integration mechanisms not as direct influences but as moderating influences on conjectures 1A and 1B, and 2A and 2B, respectively (see Figure 1). The format of the framework is similar to [START_REF] Zahra | Absorptive capacity: A review, reconceptualization, and extension[END_REF] absorptive capacity (ACAP) model that generally explains organizational innovativeness. However, much more than in Zahra and George's ACAP model, the model displayed in Figure 1 acknowledges the 'push'-influence of institutions through channels of persuasion, rather than 'pull'-absorptive capacities (initiated by adopting organizations) emphasized by Zahra and George.

Discussion And Conclusions

This paper has explored the process through which public organizationsor rather Dutch municipalitiesadopt personalized e-government services and has resulted in a conceptual model of institutional influence on the adoption of personalized egovernment services. This model contributes to the literature on diffusion and adoption of new technologies in a number of ways.

First, this study acknowledges and gives a distinct conceptualization of the concept of 'institutional pressure'. We have coined the term 'persuasive pressure' to exemplify that organizations are confronted with various types of pressure: both vertical (stemming from beyond the set of potential adopters) and horizontal (related to reputation and rivalry considerations that stem from within the set of potential adopters). Furthermore, various sources of pressure were identified: citizens' expectations, benchmarks, national programs, as well as considerations of reputation and rivalry.

Second, in line with the Scandinavian school of Institutionalism, human 'agency' was concluded to be an important part of the explanation. Persuasive pressure was not found to determine eventual outcomes, but was mitigated by active knowledge gathering by organizational actors, 'framing' of solutions and social integration processes initiated by innovation champions, knowledge brokers and through staff exchange (see also [START_REF] Mignerat | Positioning the institutional perspective in information systems research[END_REF].

Third, and, related to the second conclusion, we conclude that institutionalization is not a deterministic process, but a rather political process that includes activities by key stakeholders, power and politicking. As a whole, it can be seen as a dynamic 'legitimization game' (see also [START_REF] Zilber | The Work of Meanings in Institutional Processes and Thinking[END_REF].

Figure 1 :

 1 Figure 1: model of institutional influence on adoption of personalized e-government

Table 2 :

 2 selected municipalities

	Number of	Personalisation	Personalisation
	inhabitants	adopted	not adopted
	200,000+	Eindhoven	Tilburg
	150,000-200,000	Enschede	Nijmegen
	100,000-150,000	Haarlem	Amersfoort
	50,000-100,000	Capelle aan den IJssel	Lelystad
	0-50,000	Moerdijk	Lemsterland

Table 3 :

 3 prevalence of personalization attributes in Dutch municipal e-government services

			2006	2007	2008	2009	2010
			(n=458)	(n=443)	(n=443)	(n=441)	(n=418)
	DigiD authentication	20.7%	56.7%	76.3%	88.2%	94.6%
	Personalized newsletter	16.4%	21.2%	21.2%	N/A	27.9%
	Tracking and tracing	10.0%	16.0%	28.2%	26.5%	41.3%
	Payment		15.9%	42.4%	61.4%	80.0%	91.6%
	Pre-completed forms	N/A	N/A	17.8%	19.1%	33.9%
	Personalized	counters	5.2%	14.2%	23.7%	28.8%	40.9%
	(MyMunicipality.nl)
	Personalized policy con-	N/A	N/A	19.4%	18.7%	22.2%
	sequences

Table 4 :

 4 prevalence of 'pressure' on adoption decisions

	Perceived pressures	Adopters	Non-adopters
	Citizen expectations	56	36
	Legislation	40	50
	Benchmarks	57	26
	National initiatives	52	24
	Reputation	54	17
	Other municipalities	16	7

Table 5 :

 5 organizational search

	Organizational search	Adopters	Non-adopters
	Forums and outreach pro-grams	59	48
	Companies	49	51
	Other municipalities	60	27
	Municipal alliances	29	7
	Own organization	22	9

Table 6

 6

	: framing of personalized e-government services
	Framing in terms of:	Adopters	Non-adopters
	Service delivery, being a	84	40
	'service champion'
	Efficiency	46	21
	Reputation	24	16
	Management and control	13	18

Table 7 : activation triggers

 7

	Activation triggers	Adopters	Non-adopters
	External shocks (accidents, rehousing)	17	4
	Staff changes	8	5
	Organizational merger	5	2

Table 8 :

 8 social integration

	Social integration mechanisms	Adopters	Non-adopters
	Activities of innovation champi-ons (internal)	43	11
	Activities of knowledge brokers (external experts)	26	14
	Staff exchange	13	6

In the interval

[2006][2007][2008][2009][2010], the population of municipalities shrunk from 458 to 418 due to planned mergers 2 Note that the interviews were held in Dutch; the authors have translated the quotations given in the analysis section into English.3 Using the MaxQDA qualitative analysis tool.

DigiD stands for Digital Identity. With a DigiD users can access a large number of online services offered by Dutch (central and municipal) government agencies.

The names of the respondent and the consultancy firm have been changed to maintain anonymity.