Abstract
Digital transformation has become a central ambition in public administration, offering a rich context for understanding how institutional change unfolds. As digital technologies increasingly permeate society, it is vital to examine how such transformation is driven within public organizations and how actors shape its direction.
This dissertation investigates how digital transformation missions give rise to institutional work in public administration. Drawing on a field study of a newly established digital government agency and a longitudinal analysis of a digital minister’s speech acts, it asks: How do different forms of institutional work play a role in the shaping of digital transformation in public administration?
Across three studies, I show how organizational identity work generates tensions that divert attention from core digital missions; how members’ temporal orientations underpin these tensions; and how narrative work enables institutional entrepreneurs to introduce new ideas despite institutional constraints. The dissertation reveals circumstances that hinder or propel change: maintenance work anchors digital initiatives in existing practices, disruptive work introduces new arrangements, and creation generates new “digital” identities, roles, or missions.
By uncovering the institutional work emerging around digital transformation, the dissertation equips practitioners to better anticipate and navigate its complexities.