E-services

Overview

Electronic services or e-services are services that make use of information and communication technologies (ICTs). The three main components of e-services are:

service provider; service receiver; and the channels of service delivery (i.e., technology) For example, with respect to public e-service, public agencies are the service provider and citizens as well as businesses are the service receiver. For public e-service the internet is the main channel of e-service delivery while other classic channels (e.g. telephone, call center, public kiosk, mobile phone, television) are also considered. Since its inception in the late 1980s in Europe and formal introduction in 1993 by the US Government, the term ‘E-Government’ has now become one of the recognized research domains especially in the context of public policy and now has been rapidly gaining strategic importance in public sector modernization. E-service is one of the branches of this domain and its attention has also been creeping up among the practitioners and researchers. E-service (or eservice) is a highly generic term, usually referring to

"The provision of services via the Internet (the prefix 'e' standing for ‘electronic’, as it does in many other usages), thus e-Service may also include e-Commerce, although it may also include non-commercial services (online), which is usually provided by the government." (Irma Buntantan & G. David Garson, 2004: 169-170; Muhammad Rais & Nazariah, 2003: 59, 70-71). "E-Service constitutes the online services available on the Internet, whereby a valid transaction of buying and selling (procurement) is possible, as opposed to the traditional websites, whereby only descriptive information are available, and no online transaction is made possible." (Jeong, 2007).

Importance of e-service

Lu (2001) identifies a number of benefits for e-services, some of these are:

Accessing a greater customer base Broadening market reach Lowering of entry barrier to new markets and cost of acquiring new customers Alternative communication channel to customers Increasing services to customers Enhancing perceived company image Gaining competitive advantages Enhancing transparency Potential for increasing Customer knowledge

Importance and advantages of E-shopping

E-shops are open 24 hours a day. There is no need to travel to the malls or wait at the checkout counters. There is usually a wide selection of goods and services. It is easy to compare prices and quality by using the E-shopping tool. Price reduction and discounts are electronically conveyed.

E-service domain

The term ‘e-service’ has many applications and can be found in many disciplines. The two dominant application areas of e-services are:

E-business (or e-commerce): e-services mostly provided by businesses or non-government organizations (NGOs) (private sector). E-government: e-services provided by government to citizens or business (public sector is the supply side). The use and description of the e-service in this page will be limited to the context of e-government only where of the e-service is usually associated with prefix 'public' as in "public e-services". In some cases, we will have to describe aspects that are related to both fields like some conferences or journals which cover the concept of e-service in both domains of e-government and e-business.

Architecture

Depending on the types of services, there are certain functionalities required in the certain layers of e-service architectural framework, these include but are not limited to:

Data layer (data sources), processing layers (customer service systems, management systems, data warehouse systems, integrated customer content systems), exchange layer (Enterprise Application Integration– EAI), interaction layer ( integrating e-services), and presentation layer (customer interface through which the web pages and e-services are linked).

E-service quality

Measuring service quality and service excellence are important in a competitive organizational environment. The SERVQUAL- service quality model is one of the widely used tools for measuring quality of the service on various aspects. The five attributes of this model are: reliability, responsiveness, assurance, tangibles, and empathy. The following table summarizes some major of these:

The LIRNEasia study [Alawattegama & Wattegama (2008)] focuses more on content than on accessibility and ease of use, unlike the other studies mentioned in the table. Websites are increasingly important portals to government agencies, especially in the context of information society reforms. Stakeholders, including businesses, investors and even the general public, are interested in information produced by government agencies, and websites can help to increase their transparency and accountability. The quality of its website also demonstrates how advanced a regulatory agency is.

E-service cost factor

Some major cost factors are (Lu, 2001):

Expense of setting up applications Maintaining applications Internet connection Hardware/software Security concerns legal issues Training; and Rapid technology changes

Practical examples of e-services in the Developing World

Information technology is a powerful tool for accelerating economic development. Developing countries have focused on the development of ICT during the last two decades and as a result, it has been recognized that ICT is critical to economy and is as a catalyst of economic development. So, in recent years there seems to have been efforts for providing various e-services in many developing countries since ICT is believed to offer considerable potential for the sustainable development of e-Government and as a result, e-Services. Many government agencies in developed countries have taken progressive steps toward the web and ICT use, adding coherence to all local activities on the Internet, widening local access and skills, opening up interactive services for local debates, and increasing the participation of citizens on promotion and management of the territory(Graham and Aurigi, 1997). But the potential for e-government in developing countries remains largely unexploited, even though. ICT is believed to offer considerable potential for the sustainable development of e-government. Different human, organizational and technological factors, issues and problems pertain in these countries, requiring focused studies and appropriate approaches. ICT, in general, is referred to as an “enabler”, but on the other hand, it should also be regarded as a challenge and a peril in itself. The organizations, public or private, which ignore the potential value and use of ICT may suffer pivotal competitive disadvantages. Nevertheless, some e-government initiatives have flourished in developing countries too, e.g. Brazil, India, Chile, etc. What the experience in these countries shows, is that governments in the developing world can effectively exploit and appropriate the benefits of ICT, but e-government success entails the accommodation of certain unique conditions, needs and obstacles. The adaptive challenges of e-government go far beyond technology, they call for organizational structures and skills, new forms of leadership, transformation of public-private partnerships (Allen et al., 2001). Following are a few examples regarding e-services in some developing countries:

E-services and e-commerce in Rwanda

10 years after the Rwandan Genocide, Rwanda, a small country in Eastern Central Africa, has been bridging the digital divide through e-government. Rwanda has undergone a turnaround from being one of the most technologically deficient countries one decade ago to a country where legislative business is conducted online and wireless access to the Internet is available anywhere within the country.

E-services in South Africa

In South Africa, there continues to be high expectations of government in respect to improved delivery of service and of closer consultation with citizens. Such expectations are not unique to this country, and in this regard there is a need for governments to recognise that the implementation of e-government systems and e-services affords them the opportunity to enhance service delivery and good governance. The implementation of e-Government has been widely acclaimed in that it provides new impetus to deliver services quickly and efficiently (Evans & Yen, 2006:208). In recognition of these benefits, various arms of the South African government have embarked on a number of e-government programmes for example the Batho Pele portal, SARS e-filing, the e-Natis system, electronic processing of grant applications from remote sites, and a large number of departmental information websites. Also a number of well publicised e-government ventures such as the latter, analysts and researchers consider the state of e-government in South Africa to be at rudimentary stages. There are various factors which collectively contribute to such an assessment. Amongst these, key factors relate to a lack of a clear strategy to facilitate uptake and adoption of e-government services as well as evaluation frameworks to assess expectations of citizens who are one of the primary user groups of these services.

E-services in Malaysia

E-Services is one of the pilot projects under the Electronic Government Flagship within the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) initiative. With E-Services, one can now conduct transactions with Government agencies, such as the Road Transport Department (RTD) and private utility companies such as Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) and Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) through various convenient channels such as the eServices kiosks and internet. No more queuing, traffic jams or bureaucratic hassles and one can now conduct transaction at one's own convenience. Also, Electronic Labour Exchange (ELX)is one stop-centre for labor market information, as supervised by the Ministry of Human Resource (MOHR), to enable employers and job seekers to communicate on the same platform. e-Syariah is the seventh project under the Electronic Government flagship application of the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC). A case management system that integrates the processes related to management of cases for the Syariah Courts.

E-services in the United States of America

In America, citizens have many options and opportunities to follow and understand government actions through e-government. Government 2.0 (Gov. 2.0) is currently in place to bring the people and governments together to learn new information, increase government transparency, and better means for communicating to one another. Gov. 2.0 offers increased citizen participation through on-line applications such as social media and other apps. Through the internet and websites such as USA.gov, an individual can perform actions such as contacting elected officials, find information about the work force such as retirement plans and labor laws, learn about money and consumer issues such as taxes, loans, and welfare, learn about citizenship and obtaining a visa or passport, and other topics such as health and welfare, education, and environmental issues. E-commerce is another growing e-service in the United States for both big and small businesses. E-commerce sales are projected to grow 10 to 12 percent annually. Amazon.com is the largest on-line marketplace in the country with annual sales of $79 billion. Wal-Mart is also a widely popular retailer. They have grown their business by having electronic services. Wal-Mart's sales for E-commerce in 2015 was roughly $13 billion. Apple develops and sells a wide variety of technological goods and services such as cell phones, music players, and computers. Apple's sales for E-commerce in 2015 was $12 billion. E-services allows businesses to reach new clientele and offer new services. Companies such as eBay and Etsy have achieved great success, with eBay posting a net income in 2016 of nearly $9 billion and Esty claiming roughly $200 million in profits from nearly $2 billion sales. The majority or eBay's business is conducted in the United States but it does a great deal of international business including the United Kingdom and Germany. The global reach of Etsy is seen in nearly every country in the world with 31% of gross merchandise sales occurring outside of the United States.