Context Oriented Structuring of eGovernment Services - An Empirical Analysis of the Information Demand of Expatriates in Germany

In order to provide citizen centric eGovernment information and services on public websites there exist different structuring approaches. However websites of public authorities are still developed from an administrational point of view rather than considering the needs of their users. This article focuses on the exploration of information demand in the field of citizen-to-government contacts for the particular situation of being an expatriate in Germany. Based on information behavior research information needs of expatriates are analyzed according to the context in which they emerge. Thus a survey was conducted among 319 expatriates in Germany. The results of the statistical analysis indicate different demand topics and coherencies between demand and context variables as well as personal characteristics. Based on these findings we assert a new needs-driven structuring approach for information and services on public websites according to demand profiles.