Digital Transformation of the Public Sector : Towards Agile, Human-Centered Public Administration

By exploring both positive and negative aspects of digital transformation, this book provides a holistic picture of digital transformation in the public sector paying attention to its effects at the individual level but also considering the interdependency between the individual, organizational and context/societal levels.

Digital transformation has challenged public administrations in terms of their decision-making processes, relationships with citizens and internal management issues, such as workflows, teamwork, leadership, culture and human resources management. Digitalization processes have brought about the introduction of new forms of working that have revolutionized traditional work practices by redefining individual and organizational boundaries, and social bonds with the introduction of greater flexibility and autonomy in the choice of space, time and technological tools. These issues have prompted research on the growing intensive use of agile working, e.g., smart, remote, hybrid work, from different angles including organizational or job design, human-centeredness or ethics of technologies adopted, and their effects on quality of work, employee well-being, organizational models, and economies overall. This book provides a holistic picture of digital transformation in the public sector paying attention to its effects at the individual level but also considering the interdependency between the individual, organizational and context/societal levels. It collects original theoretical and empirical contributions addressing how digital transformation is shaping organizational practices, new forms of work and workplaces in the public sector. It employs a comprehensive mixed methodology comprising qualitative, quantitative, and emerging digital research methods, to explore the multifaceted and complex nature of this topic at different levels and to render the study trustworthy. By exploring both positive and negative aspects of digital transformation, the book offers a holistic picture that supports theoretical, practical and policy implications, reinforcing the understanding of how new forms of work may support the effective design of flexible and sustainable organizational models.