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This article examines the diffusion of an e-government innovation – called SMS-alert – among Dutch police forces. A conceptual framework for the diffusion of e-government innovations in the public sector is developed which combines a functional and a constructivist (or cultural) approach of diffusion. The framework focuses on diffusion as a mutual process of communication, learning and sense making. Based on this framework and by using data from documentation, websites and interviews, the process of diffusion and adoption of SMS-alert is reconstructed and the factors and mechanisms explaining this process are identified. The case study demonstrates that although SMS-alert has diffused rather rapidly until now, the diffusion process is currently facing some difficulties, mainly due to the existence of competing innovations. By demonstrating the importance of both the functional, political and institutional meaning of the innovation, the article confirms the value of combining different approaches in studying the diffusion of e-government innovations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]