Public Administration, Technology and Administrative Capacity

Veiko Veiko, Rainer Kattel () and Piret Tõnurist

The Other Canon Foundation and Tallinn University of Technology Working Papers in Technology Governance and Economic Dynamics from TUT Ragnar Nurkse Department of Innovation and Governance

Abstract: Technology is clearly a critical factor in the lives of organizations, yet there are only few studies that deal with technology and public organizations. In this paper we propose to understand technological change in public sector, in particular how technology influences administrative capacity, through the new concept of technological capacity. We use the case of Estonia – internationally associated with a strong e-state profile – as an exploratory case to answer two research questions: how does technological change influence administrative capacity in public organizations, and why and how does technological change take place in the public sector. By conducting document analysis and a series of interviews with public sector representatives, we demonstrate how dynamic and static change in technological capacities is influenced by four different public-sector feedback and selection mechanisms. Organizations with dynamic technological capacities solve the ambidexterity dilemma in the public sector: they introduce radical new technological solutions while they keep providing services required by laws and regulations. We conclude that in spite of the neglected position of technology in public administration literature, technology is an intrinsic factor in how administrative capacity evolves.

Pages: 30 pages
Date: 2016-08
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cis and nep-ino
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