Evaluating the Design of ICT Implementation: Financial Impacts of Standardized System Specifications

Evaluating the Design of ICT Implementation: Financial Impacts of Standardized System Specifications | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Evaluating the Design of ICT Implementation: Financial Impacts of Standardized System Specifications Naruki Notsu, Shuko Harada, Yu Osaki This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9316835/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 6 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This paper examines whether the specific design of information and communication technology (ICT) implementation plays a critical role in enhancing the fiscal efficiency of local governments. Although ICT has been widely promoted through e-government initiatives to improve government operations, the effectiveness of implementation specifications has received limited attention. We study Japan’s Regional Information Platform (RIP), a standardized system specification that facilitates interoperability across municipal administrative systems and weakens vendor lock-in. Building on a model of municipal procurement under switching costs, we show that standardization reduces expenditure through two channels: weakened vendor lock-in that lowers system costs, and improved cross-departmental interoperability that reduces labor input. Using variation in RIP adoption across Japanese municipalities, we estimate difference-indifferences models and find that RIP adoption substantially reduces per capita total expenditure. The decline is also driven by decreasing system-related and persone expenditure. These findings suggest that e-government outcomes depend not only on ICT adoption itself but also on implementation design. e-government ICT Standardization compatibility Local public finance Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files sourcefile.zip Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviewers agreed at journal 17 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 13 Apr, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 13 Apr, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 13 Apr, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 04 Apr, 2026 First submitted to journal 03 Apr, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9316835","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":624934166,"identity":"bb3e3896-d486-4e41-80a5-d3ce1791f3f9","order_by":0,"name":"Naruki Notsu","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA1UlEQVRIiWNgGAWjYHAD5gNAQkKGGJUwBlsCSAsPKVp4DMAkQQ3m7P2HP/Mw3JE3n5Hz+dWNGgseBvbDRzfg02LZc5hNmofhmeGcG7nbrHOOAR3Gk5Z2A58WgxvJbMw8DIcZZ0jkbjPOYQNqkeAxI6SFGeiww/YzJHKeGef8I04LA9BhhxOBWpgf57YRo+XMYTPJOQaHk2fwPDNjzu2T4GEj6JfjjY8/vKk4bDuDPfnx55xvdXL87IeP4dUC1Qgm2STAJGHlCMD8gRTVo2AUjIJRMHIAANkaQT/5N8K7AAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"Osaka School of International Public Policy","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Naruki","middleName":"","lastName":"Notsu","suffix":""},{"id":624934168,"identity":"98dc922d-8fb0-43c9-b827-50a1f4a4b5de","order_by":1,"name":"Shuko Harada","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Shuko Harada, Osaka School of International Public Policy","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Shuko","middleName":"","lastName":"Harada","suffix":""},{"id":624934169,"identity":"b0e59f18-ad7a-4976-8a90-7097da60e8ca","order_by":2,"name":"Yu Osaki","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Yu Osaki, Mitsubishi UFJ Research and Consulting Co., Ltd","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Yu","middleName":"","lastName":"Osaki","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-04-04 01:53:30","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9316835/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9316835/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":107488566,"identity":"36254337-3868-449a-a1e7-2cfe15f7fbbd","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-22 02:45:09","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":614163,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9316835/v1_covered_50383f21-692b-4bf0-abec-27e283f652e1.pdf"},{"id":107430549,"identity":"309dc9b0-c944-4a45-a769-7c9683c284e8","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-21 12:19:39","extension":"zip","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":29876,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"sourcefile.zip","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9316835/v1/1c9997aa810401c018877ff0.zip"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Evaluating the Design of ICT Implementation: Financial Impacts of Standardized System Specifications","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"international-tax-and-public-finance","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"itax","sideBox":"Learn more about [International Tax and Public Finance](http://link.springer.com/journal/10797)","snPcode":"10797","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/10797/3","title":"International Tax and Public Finance","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"e-government, ICT, Standardization, compatibility, Local public finance ","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9316835/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9316835/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"This paper examines whether the specific design of information and communication technology (ICT) implementation plays a critical role in enhancing the fiscal efficiency of local governments. 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