The history of information infrastructures: the case of the International Classification of Diseases
Information Processing and Management: an International Journal - Special issue: history of information science
Empirical research in information systems: the practice of relevance
MIS Quarterly - Special issue on intensive research in information systems
Binary trading relations and the limits of EDI standards: the Procrustean bed of standards
European Journal of Information Systems
Sorting things out: classification and its consequences
Sorting things out: classification and its consequences
Researching Information Systems and Computing
Researching Information Systems and Computing
Design science in information systems research
MIS Quarterly
Theorizing Practice and Practicing Theory
Organization Science
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Interoperability in e-government has been recognized as a key factor in the quest of administrations at national, local and international level to achieve the provision of one-stop services to citizens and businesses. Interoperability in e-government should enable efficient information exchange between applications from different agencies with the help of IT-services. Interoperability in networked IT-service delivery is accomplished by e-infrastructures. However, knowledge of how to develop e-infrastructures in the public sector is still limited. In this paper we report a design science case study of the initial stage of the design of a public sector e-infrastructure in the social welfare sector, especially addressing the bootstrap problem, i.e. the initial problem of starting-up the development of an e-infrastructure. Six types of preconditions for the development of the e-infrastructure are examined and explained: legal, economical, organizational and the installed base of the as-is e-infrastructure consisting of technical, informational and contractual preconditions. From a design and action oriented perspective we claim that a basic understanding of the design context, within which the six types of preconditions have to be analyzed and understood, are essential for e-infrastructure development in an e-government context. The paper highlights the fundamental role of regulations as a precondition for the design, and the fundamental role of lawyers as designers of e-infrastructures in the public sector.