Abstract

Catastrophic events create substantial material losses and cause significant harm to wide parts of the population (Roztocki et al., 2025). In catastrophic events, e-government provides an important basis for administrative responses to maintain social and economic operations. During COVID-19, when physical access to government agencies was restricted, e-government allowed clients to continue to receive essential services and conduct transactions such as filing taxes and obtaining identification documents and driver’s licenses. By way of e-information, residents were able to stay informed of any happenings and updates. The objective of this study is to construct a theoretical model which would describe and help to understand the delivery of e-government services during catastrophic events. The study is part of a larger project with the purpose to advance the understanding of e-government during catastrophic events. As part of this ongoing project a large amount of data has been accumulated, including transcripts of interviews of government employees conducted across Poland. These government employees included city administrators and technical staff involved with maintaining e-government services during COVID-19. In addition to the interview transcripts, our accumulated data includes the results of two surveys, one of Polish government employees and one of clients of government services in Poland. These data sets are supplemented by secondary data. The theoretical model will be constructed by using the systematic theory-building method proposed by Dubin (1966). The available data will be analyzed using a grounded theory approach (Strauss and Corbin, 1990). The transcripts of interviews of government employees will be analyzed using open, axial, and selective coding. Data collected in the two surveys will be analyzed using statistical methods such structural equation modeling (SEM) and multiple regression model building. The overall development of the theoretical model will be supported by a literature review of relevant studies. The proposed theoretical model is anticipated to be useful to other scholars as guidance for future research projects related to the use of e-government during catastrophic events. In addition, the model may serve as a framework in developing guidelines for decision-makers in government institutions, thus helping to improve the outcomes and consequences from the delivery of e-government services in catastrophic events.

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