This research aims to investigate the underlying process-based causes of e-government failure. Through the lens of actor-network theory, this paper presents a process-oriented study of the failure of Thailand’s Smart ID Card project. Adding to the extant knowledge on e-government failures that attributes this phenomenon to internal and external factors, this paper argues that the reason the project failed was a cumulative process of failure to create and maintain the actor-network. Policy implications for developing countries to efficiently manage their e-government initiatives are given, such as adopting an open principle in setting e-government project objectives and initiating the actor-network; implementing the e-government target in stages based on prepared environment; allowing an e-government system to evolve according to the degree of readiness in the information and communications technology (ICT) system design, implementation and local adoption; and including large, nationwide projects as part of a national informatization strategy.

Social media have become new tools for the public sector to communicate with the public and to realize the idea of an open government that embraces transparency, participation, and collaboration. This article explores the adoption and use of social media applications (Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube) by Thailand’s public sector and social media’s contribution to transparency. In total, 172 public agencies representing the central, provincial, and local administration levels were investigated. Evidently, the social media applications in question have not been widely adopted and used in the Thai public sector as indicated by the small fraction of public agencies considered to be active users. Nevertheless, Facebook was found to be the only application keenly used by public agencies at all three administration levels (18 public agencies in total). An examination of their Facebook messages revealed that Facebook was employed mainly for disseminating news updates that did not actually increase the agencies’ transparency. It is thus apparent that for the Thai public sector, social media use to achieve transparency is not open to discussion. Instead, the Thai government’s first priority is to encourage public agencies to merely adopt and use social media at all, before it can focus on the most effective ways that agencies can employ such media.

Purpose: – Moral reasoning research in Western cultures is grounded primarily in Kohlbergian cognitive moral theory. Enumerable investigations about the psychological determinants and cultural dimensions of moral reasoning have provided significant insights about Western decision making and contributed to Western organizational behavioral theory. However, inquiry about these same constructs and how they may interact with moral reasoning in non-Western Southeast Asian trading partner countries has not provided comparable insights. The purpose of this paper is to remedy that by comparing predominant cultural dimensions to levels of moral reasoning in student and graduate populations in Thailand and the USA. Design/methodology/approach: – The Defining Issues Test (DIT) measurement of moral reasoning (Rest et al., 1999) and the Values Survey Module (VSM) 2013 (Hofstede and Minkov, 2013) were translated for the first time into Thai, pilot tested, and used to gather cultural and moral reasoning data in Thailand. The same English version instruments were used to gather comparable data among similarly matched US samples. Comparisons are presented in this paper, and differences in approaches to moral decision making are discussed. Findings: – Findings indicate that there are both significant psychological and cultural differences between the two nations that affect moral reasoning. Predominant status quo moral reasoning predominates in Thailand, while a polarity between self-interest moral reasoning and higher level abstract idealistic moral reasoning predominates in the USA. Potential cultural influences on these moral reasoning tendencies are discussed. Research limitations/implications: – While findings can be generalized to the sample populations of Thai and US undergraduate students and graduate students who are in the workplace, the considerable time required to complete the two survey instruments precluded inclusion of higher level, veteran managers and public policy administrators in the study. Alternative survey methods need to be developed for investigating these subjects in order to make the combined findings more robust and widely generalizable. Practical implications: – Careful attention to cultural and linguistic variables provided for thorough and effective first-time translations of the DIT and the VSM 2013 from English into the Thai language. These two instruments are now available to other researchers who wish to investigate cultural dimensions and moral reasoning through other research designs. The Thai-version DIT can be obtained from the copyright holder, Center for the Study of Ethical Development (http://ethicaldevelopment.ua.edu/). The Thai-version of the VSM can be obtained through the Geert Hofstede website (www.geerthofstede.nl/). Social implications: – These findings can help researchers in Western and non-Western countries to better understand the foundations upon which moral reasoning in the two countries is grounded, and can provide insights about how individuals in quite different cultures perceive ethical dilemmas in the workplace and public arena and attempt to solve them. The findings also serve as another entry point for business managers and public policy administrators to not only better understand organizational behavior as regards ethical decision making, but general decision making as well. Originality/value: – This is the first research study comparing cultural dimensions identified by Geert Hofstede and Michael Minkov as measured by the VSM 2013 to moral reasoning as measured by the DIT.

The purpose of this study is to provide an understanding of how the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) in Thailand has adopted Twitter to communicate with residents in its approach to flood management. Specifically, we examine 3,453 BMA tweet messages in terms of quantity, tweet content, reactions and engagement. Results indicate that BMA actively provides information of various types that bring about various reactions from its followers. BMA employs Twitter as a one-way communication channel to disseminate information, thus neglecting a method of engagement with its residents.

This study seeks to explain the phenomenon of e-government initiatives in developing countries through the lens of the actor-network theory. Part of this theory is made up of the sociology of translation, which was employed as a crucial framework for exploring Thailand's Smart ID Card project. However, this project could not be mobilized, due to structural flaws in the following three stages: problematization, interessement and enrolment.