{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,10]],"date-time":"2026-02-10T15:53:34Z","timestamp":1770738814663,"version":"3.49.0"},"reference-count":0,"publisher":"Informing Science Institute","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,1]],"date-time":"2026-01-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1767225600000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["InformingSciJ"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Aim\/Purpose\t\nTo diagnose the internal state of municipal digital transformation by identifying and characterizing the perception gaps between employees\u2019 current and targeted states of back-office e-government systems (process efficiency, data integration, technological competence, digital stress).\n\nBackground\t\nDespite large investments in municipal ICT and national digital strategies, back-office integration remains understudied; employee experiences may reveal implementation shortfalls that system metrics alone miss. This paper mobilizes a socio-technical and public-value perspective to address that gap. \n\nMethodology\t\nOnline survey of municipal employees (final analysis, N = 386) using 30 paired Likert items (current vs. targeted). Quantitative analyses included paired-samples t-tests, effect sizes (Cohen\u2019s d), exploratory factor analysis (EFA), K-means clustering, MANOVA\/MANCOVA, and linear discriminant analysis (LDA). Missing data and standard diagnostics were reported and handled as described in the manuscript.\n\nContribution\t\nProvides a diagnostic assessment of employee perceptions, offering an informative foundation for understanding the discrepancies between digital policy goals and operational realities.\n\nFindings\t\nLarge perception gaps exist in all four dimensions: process efficiency, data integration (the largest gap), technological competence, and digital stress (current stress &gt; target). Gaps vary by municipality type (districts have larger gaps than metros) and department (IT has smaller gaps). EFA supported three latent constructs; clustering yielded four user profiles (optimistic adapters, process challengers, technology strugglers, comprehensive gap experiencers).\n\nRecommendations for Practitioners\t\nPrioritize cross-departmental data integration, adopt a process-first IS redesign, expand distributed competence-building beyond IT units, and implement design\/support measures to monitor and reduce digital stress, with a special focus on district municipalities.\n\nRecommendations for Researchers \t\nUse longitudinal and mixed methods designs to triangulate subjective perceptions with objective usage logs and performance metrics; evaluate targeted interventions experimentally; and conduct cross-national comparisons to assess contextual generalizability.\n\nImpact on Society\t\nClosing identified gaps can increase operational efficiency, equity of access, and public value of municipal services; failure to act risks deepening service inequalities and producing persistent administrative burdens and employee burnout.\n\nFuture Research\t\nLongitudinal studies tracking perception change after targeted interventions; integration of system logs and outcome indicators; causal evaluation of training\/process-redesign programs; and comparative studies across governance contexts.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.28945\/5706","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,9]],"date-time":"2026-02-09T22:35:58Z","timestamp":1770676558000},"page":"03","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Unfulfilled Promises of Back-Office E-Government Systems: Employee Perceptions and Digital Transformation in Turkish Municipalities"],"prefix":"10.28945","volume":"29","author":[{"given":"Aykut","family":"Arslan","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Piri Reis University"}]},{"given":"Serdar","family":"Yener","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Sinop University"}]},{"given":"Abd\u00fclkadir","family":"Akturan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Piri Reis University"}]}],"member":"11490","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026]]},"container-title":["Informing Science: The International Journal of an Emerging Transdiscipline"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"http:\/\/www.inform.nu\/Articles\/Vol29\/InfoSciV29Art03Arslan13112.pdf","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"http:\/\/www.inform.nu\/Articles\/Vol29\/InfoSciV29Art03Arslan13112.pdf","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,9]],"date-time":"2026-02-09T22:35:58Z","timestamp":1770676558000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.informingscience.org\/Publications\/5706"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026]]},"references-count":0,"alternative-id":["5706"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.28945\/5706","relation":{},"ISSN":["1547-9684","1521-4672"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1547-9684","type":"print"},{"value":"1521-4672","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026]]}}}