The effect of resistance to change in the application of e-Government in Iraq

Information and communication technology (ICT) has become one of the basic building blocks of modern society. It is generally believed that ICT has considerable potential to improve governance capabilities and transform relations with customers. Iraq, like many other countries, embraces e-Government enthusiastically but encounters big challenges at the same time. One of the most important challenges facing Iraq and the developing countries is the resistance to change. Employees´ resistance to change is still the biggest barrier to successful change. Therefore, this paper aims to examine the effect of resistance to change for e-Government in Iraq from the viewpoint of employees of governmental agencies. It conducted interviews with the Senior Managers on the project to clarify the impact of resistance to change on e-Government in agencies in the province of Dhi-Qar, where e-Government in Iraq is first launched, with the assistance of the Government of Italy. This is the first study that focuses on resistance to change on the electronic government in Iraq since the establishment of electronic government in 2004.