Andersson_et_al_2022.pdf (1.45 MB)
Unpacking the digitalisation of public services: Configuring work during automation in local government
journal contribution
posted on 2023-07-26, 15:38 authored by Christoffer Andersson, Anette Hallin, Chris IvoryThe digitalisation of public services involves not only the transformation of the relationship between public service providers and clients, but also the transformation of public administration work. While most studies of digitalisation of the public sector have focused on the practical outcomes for the quality of public services and the quality of public administration work, none have unpacked , or theorised, how these changes actually come about in practice. This paper fills this gap by drawing on a study of the in-house adaptation of a digital automation tool (an RPA) by a Swedish local authority. In the article, we pay attention to what we, inspired by Donna Haraway and Lucy Suchman, call ‘configuring work’, i.e. the weaving together of the affordances of the technology, materials, discourses, roles and power structures. The contribution of the paper is two-fold. First, the paper demonstrates empirically how the digitalisation of a public service took place through an emergent, relational process that involved both the social and the material. Second, by adopting the the idea of ‘configuring work’ and paying attention to the effects of this, we show that the digitalisation process was successively shaped by the particular vested interests, ethics, discourses and the algorithmic materialities that comprised it. This helps us discuss the reason for why, in extant literature, digitalisation threatens the professional autonomy of the public administrators as well as why it may reduce service quality. Finally, we suggest how some of these issues may be addressed in future research.
History
Refereed
- Yes
Volume
39Issue number
1Page range
101662Publication title
Government Information QuarterlyISSN
0740-624XExternal DOI
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ElsevierFile version
- Published version
Language
- eng
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Legacy posted date
2022-01-04Legacy creation date
2022-01-04Legacy Faculty/School/Department
Faculty of Business & LawUsage metrics
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