The e-government adoption ecosystem from the perspective of stakeholder theory: A case study on the village information systems in Indonesia

The village information system (VIS) is a form of e-government that villages in Indonesia have adopted. However, many village administrations still have difficulty implementing it. Gunungkidul Regency, Indonesia, is a regency where all villages have successfully adopted VIS in a sustainable manner. This study aims to portray the ecosystem that the adoption or implementation of VIS in the regency has formed. The researchers carried out data collection using observation techniques, document studies, and interviews with entities involved in the management and utilization of VIS in the regency. We used a historical approach and a stakeholder-theory lens to capture the roles and interests of each entity that comprises the ecosystem. Our findings reveal the role and interest in VIS of regional heads, several local government (or supra-village) organizations, vendors or non-governmental organizations (NGOs), village-owned enterprises (BUMDes), civil society organizations (CSO), and villagers in an ecosystem portrait. They are entities that contribute to the management and utilization of VIS. These results can provide an overview of how VIS must be managed collaboratively by involving various stakeholders. Collaborative governance is still rarely found in e-government applications in general, such as e-service, e-procurement, or e-participation, which only tend to provide general e-government roles such as automation and increasing information flow. The results of this study also offer lessons learned for other village administrations in sustainably implementing the VIS.