E-government and bureaucracy: Toward a better understanding of intranet implementation and its effect on red tape

This article examines the interaction between bureaucratic red tape and intranet usage in state human service agencies. We propose a sociotechnical model for the relationship between intranet usage and bureaucratic red tape that takes into account the complexities of causal linkages including bidirectional causal relationships and a range of internal and external influences. This model is tested with data from the National Administrative Studies Project, Phase II. While we are not able to corroborate the demand pull hypothesis advanced by Bretschneider and colleagues, we do find support for its corollary (the technology push hypothesis) indicating that intranet usage is associated with reduction in red tape. This finding on the salutary effect of intranet usage holds for both a global measure of red tape and a more specific procurement red tape measure. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of our findings.