Institutionella tryck som påverkat en myndighets digitala styrning: En kvalitativ studie av Arbetsförmedlingen
2020 (Swedish)Independent thesis Advanced level (degree of Master (One Year)), 10 credits / 15 HE credits
Student thesisAlternative title
Institutional Pressures which have affected an authority’s Digital Management : A qualitative study of the Swedish Public Employment Service (English)
Abstract [en]
Background: For a long time, there have been several internal and external pressures that have advanced the public sector's digitalization. This includes pressure from citizens, government policies and employees. However, in the context of the Covid-19 outbreak, the public sector has been forced to change its operations to become even more digital.
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to create an understanding of how institutional pressures have affected a Swedish authority's digital management.
Method: The study was conducted through a qualitative case study by the Swedish Public Employment Service. An abductive approach was used where we iterated between theory and empiricism. The data collection consisted of semi-structured interviews and document studies. The empirical data was analysed through a thematization where institutional theory was used as a theoretical lens.
Results: The study demonstrates that customers have put a great deal of pressure on the Swedish Public Employment Service to digitize their services, due to their desire to remain relevant to the customers. External actors, mainly similar authorities but also private organizations, have continued to put pressure on the Employment Service to further digitize their services. Employees have given rise to contradictory internal pressures, where some have pushed the digitalization on the authority and others have opposed the digitalization. Sweden's digitization strategy has not had a major impact on the Swedish Public Employment Service's digitalization management. This since the Swedish Public Employment Service had already begun a digital transformation of the authority before Sweden's digitization strategy was implemented. The Covid-19 crisis has greatly accelerated the Swedish Public Employment Service's digital transformation, especially regarding their digital services and the number of employees' that can work from home.
Abstract [sv]
Bakgrund: Det har under en längre tid existerat flera interna och externa tryck som drivit på offentlig sektors digitalisering. Däribland tryck från bland annat medborgare, regeringspolicys och medarbetare. I samband med Covid-19-utbrottet har dock den offentliga sektorn tvingats ställa om sin verksamhet till att bli ännu mer digital.
Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att skapa en förståelse av hur institutionella tryck har påverkat en svensk myndighets styrning med avseende på digitalisering.
Metod: Studien genomfördes genom en kvalitativ fallstudie av Arbetsförmedlingen. En abduktiv ansats utnyttjades där vi itererade mellan teori och empiri. Datainsamlingen bestod av semistrukturerade intervjuer och dokumentstudier. Den empiriska data analyserades genom en tematisering där institutionell teori användes som teoretisk lins.
Resultat: Studien påvisar att kunder har utgett ett stort tryck för Arbetsförmedlingen att digitalisera sina tjänster på grund av viljan att vara fortsatt relevant för kunderna. Fortsättningsvis har externa aktörer, främst liknande myndigheter men även privata organisationer, satt press på Arbetsförmedlingen att ytterligare digitalisera sina tjänster. Medarbetare har gett upphov till motsägande interna tryck, där vissa har drivit på digitaliseringen på myndigheten och andra har motsatt sig den. Sveriges digitaliseringsstrategi har inte haft en större påverkan på Arbetsförmedlingens digitala styrning eftersom Arbetsförmedlingen redan hade påbörjat en transformering av myndigheten innan Sveriges digitaliseringsstrategi implementerades. Covid-19-krisen har kraftigt accelererat Arbetsförmedlingens digitala transformering med avseende på utvecklingen av digitala tjänster och medarbetares möjlighet att jobba hemifrån.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2020. , p. 61
Keywords [en]
Covid-19, Digitalization Strategy, Government, Policies, Authorities, Governance, Digital Services, Swedish Public Employment Service, Institutional Theory
Keywords [sv]
Covid-19, Digitaliseringsstrategi, Regering, Policys, Myndigheter, Styrning, Digitala tjänster, Arbetsförmedlingen, Institutionell teori
National Category
Information Systems, Social aspects
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-167946ISRN: LIU-IEI-FIL-A--20/03488--SEOAI: oai:DiVA.org:liu-167946DiVA, id: diva2:1457390
Subject / course
Master’s programme in IT and Management
Supervisors
Examiners
2020-08-182020-08-112020-08-18Bibliographically approved