Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to review selected literature on e-government service orientation and highlight differences between academic theory and empirical findings. To date, there has been little support for predictions made in the e-government conceptual literature.

Design/methodology/approach – The paper is a conceptual framework for a literature review of e-government and service orientation is presented. A systematic database search is then undertaken to identify the literature related to e-government and service orientation. Suitable papers are selected, carefully read, and systematically analysed according to the conceptual framework. A discussion and relevant conclusions are then presented.

Findings – The paper finds that a gap appears to exist between conceptual literature and empirical findings. For example, conceptual research claims that e-government will result in a reduction of staff, yet no empirical findings have proven this. The present study applies institutional theory for understanding the fundamental reasons to this gap.

Research limitations/implications – The paper is based on a literature review of 27 articles, three monographs and one edited volume focusing on service orientation and e-government. It does not attempt to examine the full range of the literature available within the field of e-government.

Originality/value – This review paper uniquely considers the gaps between the theory and practice of e-government service orientation, and identifies where they exist. Some possible explanations for the gaps are explored which can be of interest to both academics and practitioners working in the field.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe and analyse the effects of e-government on service design as perceived by employees.

Design/methodology/approach – The study uses semi-structured interviews with middle managers and front-line employees, complemented by documentary analysis, to investigate how the introduction of e-government has affected service design in two Swedish public-sector organisations.

Findings – The analysis reveals five dimensions of change in the design of services as a result of the introduction of e-government: service encounter and service process; customers as co-creators and sole producers of services; efficiency; increased complexity; and integration. The study discusses the significance of these findings with particular examples from transcriptions of the interviews.

Research limitations/implications – This study is rather limited and exploratory in nature; however, it does provide useful information on the categories of change in the redesign of services for e-government and it does point the way to important avenues of future research in this field.

Practical implications – Four practical implications flow from the present research: managers should involve both employees and customers in projects and processes during the introduction of e-government services; the services must be redesigned to ensure that the benefits of the information and communication technologies systems are fully realised; the introduction of e-government might require more time being made available to assist certain customers who are in need of extra time and support from employees; and the time that is saved as a result of the introduction of e-government must be profitably utilized by careful advance planning.

Originality/value – The study makes an original contribution by identifying five categories of change in the design of services in the context of the introduction of e-government.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to contribute to understanding of how a service-dominant (S-D) professional identity can be established among the employees of an organisation that wishes to inculcate the tenets of S-D logic.

Design/methodology/approach – The paper reports a case study of a large Swedish public sector organisation in which the transition to e-government provided an opportunity to inculcate a new service-based professional identity among employees. The main data collection method is interviewing.

Findings – The study identifies four characteristics of a S-D professional identity: interaction; customer orientation; co-creation; and empowerment. The study finds that such an identity can be established through five socialisation processes: collective socialisation; random socialisation; serial socialisation; investiture socialisation; and divestiture socialisation.

Research limitations/implications – As with all case study research, the paper draws analytical generalisations but is unable to provide any statistical generalisations; further quantitative research is needed in this area. Moreover, the paper takes a intra-firm perspective; future studies could approach the topic from a consumer perspective.

Practical implications – Managers who wish to inculcate S-D logic in their organisations should focus on developing the interactive and co-creation skills of their employees, as well as empowering them and providing them with an enhanced understanding of customer orientation.

Originality/value – The study is novel in several respects: it provides a systematic empirical analysis of how S-D logic can be established in an organisation; the notion of a S-D professional identity is introduced; and the theory of organisational socialisation is applied to S-D logic research for the first time.