Executive use of information technology in the public sector. An empirical examination

This paper aims to provide a composite sketch of the executive utilization of information technologies and its relation to agencies' use of such technologies in state and local government organizations in Arizona. The data were collected through mail surveys by a group of faculty members and graduate students at the School of Public Affairs, Arizona State University. The findings show that (1) regardless of their functional managerial responsibilities, executives surveyed in the study all reported involvement in decision making concerning information technology acquisition and management; (2) organizations that enjoy a higher level of information technology use tend to have managers who have positive attitudes toward information technology (IT); (3) executives' personal familiarity (personal use of) with information technology has only limited correlation with the organizations' technology adoption and use; (4) executives' attitudes toward, and personal involvement in, information technology, are directly related to their educational background and age. The paper concludes that positively shaped attitudes toward information technology on the part of public organization managers are essential in determining public organizations' technological innovation and service provision. Such attitudes do not grow with age, but are obtainable by way of education.