Public administration, technology and administrative capacity

Technology is changing the context of public administration (PA) in increasing pace. Trends of big data, smart cities, and general use of artificial intelligence pose the question whether and how such advances change how... [ view full abstract ]

Technology is changing the context of public administration (PA) in increasing pace. Trends of big data, smart cities, and general use of artificial intelligence pose the question whether and how such advances change how public organizations function on everyday level, their administrative capacity. We know from private sector research how companies have responded to massive changes in work organization brought on by ICT paradigms (flat hierarchies, peer production) and there is increasing pressure for public sector to do the same (think only on the public sector innovation discourse). And while there is a long term tradition is researching how technological changes impact work organization in companies, there seems to be little evidence from public organizations. Thus, this paper seeks to answer the question whether such technological innovations lead to changes in administrative capacities of public sector organizations. In order to discuss how technological advances (and innovations resulting from these) and administrative capacities are related we develop a novel co-evolutionary framework by basing ourselves on literatures of administrative capacities, organizational theory and public sector innovation. As Estonia is globally seen as one of the leaders in e-government, we test this framework with eight case studies from Estonia: postal service, emergency medical service, public transportation services, e-health services, municipal services, tax collection service, internal security services, and e-residency. In each case, public organizations created innovations via moving to new and more complex software solutions. We show that in each case, the innovations created impacted how administrative capacities evolved in the organizations responsible for these developments. We show how innovations influence available resources and division of tasks and control; and also how these innovation impact reputations (and related authority) of these organizations. In conclusion, we discuss new research agenda for public administration and policy scholars in relation with the emergence of technological innovations.