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Abstract: In the context of the impact of COVID-19 on management information systems, there have been many reports of accelerated digital transformation, including in public administration institutions. I discuss the meaning of the term digital transformation and consider whether the actions taken so far by public administrations in the face of COVID-19 are actually conducive to digital transformation, or just digitalization alone. Conclusions may suggest how to use this COVID-19 induced experience in planning digital transformation.
Abstract: In this conceptual piece we suggest that the institutional perspective is a prolific lens to study digital innovation and transformation. Digital innovation is about the creation and putting into action of novel products and services; by digital transformation we mean the combined effects of several digital innovations bringing about novel actors (and actor constellations), structures, practices, values, and beliefs that change, threaten, replace or complement existing rules of the game within organizations and fields. We identify three types of novel institutional arrangements critical for digital transformation: digital organizational forms, digital institutional infrastructures, and digital institutional building blocks. From this vantage point, an institutional perspective invites us to examine how these novel arrangements gain social approval (i.e. legitimacy) in the eyes of critical stakeholders and their interplay with existing institutional arrangements. Questioning the disruptive talk associated with digital transformation, we draw on the institutional change literature to illustrate the institutionalization challenges and that existing institutional arrangements are pivotal arbiters in deciding whether and how novel arrangements gain acceptance. We close this essay with discussing the implications of an institutional perspective on digital transformation for policy, practice and research.
Abstract: The restrictions introduced by COVID-19 forced firms to adapt to a technology-intensive operational model. These digital transformations involved deliberations among stakeholders to adjust strategy and general functionally of companies, which included elements of the future of work. This paper leverages existing research, and input from firms in various industries to illustrate technology-based issues including elements of the future of work that are transpiring in organizations as they adapt to this disruptive environment.
Abstract: Local governments are in an ideal position to integrate government, private, and citizen data to deliver beneficial new digitally enabled public services. However, progress toward achieving the benefits has stagnated in many cases. This is because managers lack the requisite know-how to lead the implementation and enactment of integrated enterprise systems to improve the processes of public service delivery, part of a journey called 'digital transformation'. If digital transformations are to progress, we need more nuanced empirical elaboration of the know-how managers require. To that end, this study reports evidence from case studies in 11 local governments in Canada. The findings provide the empirical basis for a theory of the know-how managers require to lead the implementation and enactment of integrated enterprise systems in support of digital transformation. We then propose a new theoretical model of how to transfer that requisite know-how to managers through public-private partnerships, and thereby mitigate barriers to that transfer. • IT governance strategies to support digital transformation in government. • Exploit trigger events and strong vision to expedite digital transformation. • Structures, metrics and incentives to fit each stage of transformation lifecycle. • Benefit from external knowledge via public-private partnerships (PPP). • A knowledge transfer model for PPP in support of digital transformation.
Abstract: Background: Organisational digital transformation (ODT) is a field of growing interest in practice and academia. Further, a disparity between how information technology (IT) leaders and non-IT leaders perceive the factors leading to successful ODT initiatives has been cited. A set of empirically tested ODT assessment instruments will enhance leaders' decision-making when implementing ODT initiatives. Objectives: This research attempts to: (1) identify the key internal factors of successful ODT initiatives; and (2) confirm whether there is, as has been suggested, a difference between the way IT managers and non-IT managers perceive these factors. Method: A questionnaire consisting of 36 potential underlying factors was formulated, based on the existing literature and additional insights. A prescreening process ensured each survey participant met the selection criteria. From a total of 95 participants who completed the survey, 45 were IT executives and 50 were non-IT executives. Quantitative analyses were conducted to identify the key underlying factors and ascertain whether IT and non-IT leaders hold differing perceptions of these factors. Results: Factor analysis identified four categories of factors of a successful ODT initiative: (1) customer centricity, (2) governance, (3) innovation and (4) resource attainment. Further, the analysis revealed that IT and non-IT managers hold similar perceptions on the key factors affecting the overall ODT success. Conclusion: This research provides empirical evidence that paves the way towards a reliable ODT assessment instrument and refutes claims that IT and non-IT leaders hold contrasting views on these factors.
Abstract: This paper presents the results of a qualitative study exploring the technologically-mediated practices of work/life balancing, blurring and boundary-setting of a cohort of professionals in knowledge-intensive roles in Sheffield, a regional city in Northern England. It contributes to a growing body of CSCW research on the complex interweaving of work and non-work tasks, demands and on the boundaries that can be supported or hindered by digital technologies. In the paper, we detail how a cohort of 26 professionals in knowledge-intensive roles devise diverse strategies for handling work and non-work in light of a set of interconnected forces, and we argue that boundary dissolving and work-life blurring, and not just boundary setting and “balancing”, are essential resources within such strategies. We also show how boundary sculpting pertains not only to work pervading personal spheres of life, but also the opposite, and that establishing, softening and dissolving boundaries are practiced to handle situations when the personal seeps into professional life.
Abstract: Knowledge and expertise sharing has long been an important theme in CSCW and, importantly, one that has frequently challenged a prevailing view concerning knowledge management. This critique focused, initially, on the practical problems associated with issues of Organisational Memory (OM), and in particular the difficulties inherent in an oversimplified ‘repository’ model. Attention then turned to issues of contextuality and communication for expertise sharing, drawing on concepts such as communities of practice and social capital to understand, again, the sharing of knowledge and expertise in practice. Here, we report on how particular kinds of ‘embodied action’ can be identified in relation to the potential of cyber-physical infrastructures for knowledge sharing in an industrial context. We argue that, in a complex industrial domain, both the recording of physical movement – ‘showing’ – and the representation of local knowledge – ‘telling’ – are potentially relevant. Our proposal is that the evolution of cyber-physical infrastructures now offers a way of changing some early assumptions about how knowledge might be captured and displayed. We argue that we are entering a third generation of knowledge and expertise sharing research, where the use of augmented reality (AR) and sensor technology will result in significant new methodological innovations, including the capture and sharing of knowledge, embedded in embodied action.
Abstract: This paper analyzes the self-organizing network Hoffice – a merger between the words home and office – that brings together people who wish to co-create temporary workplaces. The Hoffice concept entails a co-working methodology, and a set of practices inherent in opening up one’s home as a temporary, shared workplace, with the help of existing social media platforms, particularly Facebook. We discuss both the practices of co-creating temporary workplaces, particularly for workers who lack a stable office and orchestrate flexible work arrangements, and the values and rhetoric enshrined in Hoffice. We collected our research materials through interviews, participant observation, and workshops. Our findings draw attention to i) the practical arrangement of Hoffice events, ii) the participatory efforts to get individual work done, and 3) the co-creation of an alternative social model that encourages trust, self-actualization, and openness. To conclude, we discuss how Hoffice is already making change for its members, and how this is indicative of a politics of care. We contribute to research on computer-supported collaborative work (CSCW) by highlighting grassroots efforts to create alternative ways of organizing nomadic work and navigating non-traditional employment arrangements.
Abstract: A poor relationship between top management and IT personnel is often denoted as a business–IT gap. In an era of digital transformation, bridging this gap and establishing a strong relationship between business and IT are more important than ever before. The purpose of this paper is thus to examine a particular link between business and IT managers – a partnership relationship – together with the factors facilitating it. Design/methodology/approach: A partnership construct is developed based on interdisciplinary studies and transferred to the business–IT context since it is not generally used in IT disciplines. The model was empirically tested with structural equation modelling using data obtained from 221 IT managers in Slovenian companies. Findings: The results show that both the perceived value of IT and the business orientation of the IT department exert a positive influence on the partnership, while a mere technology-oriented IT department has a negative effect on the partnership relationship. Furthermore, the paper also presents the prerequisites for a business-oriented IT department. Originality/value: In this digitalisation era, IT is becoming even more important for its strategic role in organisations. There is thus a strong need to bridge the business–IT gap. Despite significant efforts made to close this gap, it remains a major issue. This research contributes to understanding the business–IT gap and presents the key factors for ensuring a partnership relationship is in place. The study also combines the views of social exchange theory and knowledge-based theory and upgrades findings concerning the influence of social facilitators on collaboration outcomes.
Abstract: Digital transformation (DT) is a strategic imperative for governments that aim to improve their services and efficiency. Despite high expectations regarding DT practices, there is limited empirical evidence on how governments are approaching DT in a hierarchical bureaucracy context and how flexibility is created to enable progression. In this research, we employed a case study approach to investigate and analyze DT based on relevant events occurring in a five-year period. A conceptual model was created by combining the diamond framework, the technology enactment framework, and enterprise architecture scope to facilitate the chronological analysis of these events and reflect upon the creation of flexibility. The findings indicate that DT in government spreads in waves with adaptations in different organizational elements, impacting the whole administrative system from the provincial level to the country level and including both radical and incremental changes. Flexibility increases alongside progress in DT and can be technology-enabled or policy-enabled. The creation of flexibility also depends on organizational elements and bureaucratic levels. This study advocates a cross-level view to comprehensively understand DT and offers insights to help other governments craft DT agenda. • This paper presents a case study of digital transformation in a hierarchical bureaucracy context. • A model was created by combining the diamond framework, technology enactment framework and enterprise architecture scope. • Flexibility increases with digital transformation progress and can be technology- or policy-enabled. • Flexibility in digital transformation also depends on organizational elements and bureaucratic levels. • This study advocates a cross-level view to comprehensively understand digital transformation.
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