Today businesses are facing radical transformations through digitalization of services and products. Accordingly, their ability to innovate is increasingly linked to the capacity to innovate through information and communication technologies (ICTs). This article investigates the role of information systems (IS) as a key factor for innovation capacity. To this end, the article discusses an interpretive framework for understanding the degree of capacity of innovation through information systems (IS) reached by a given company and the contradictions that bound its evolution. An interpretive study is also presented, where the framework has been applied to seven French companies from various industries. Consistently with the framework, the interviews address process areas and practices related to three core categories: management, innovation engineering and support. The study reveals seven fundamental contradictions that can explain the main tendencies observed across the companies.

Background  -  In the past two decades, blockchain has emerged as a technology organizations can leverage for various purposes. The technology’s promises of enhanced security, transparency, and immutability have sparked an interest from organizations to explore how they can best grasp this new opportunity. However, adoption has been slower than anticipated which has been argued to be dependent on an organization's readiness to adopt the technology. 

Purpose  -  Blockchain advisors, with their extensive knowledge about blockchain, have become an important role for organizations in the blockchain adoption process. This study therefore aims to explore the advisors' perception of conditions for organizational readiness to adopt blockchain technology.

Design/methodology/approach - To gain insight into the conditions of organizational readiness to adopt blockchain technology, this study used an interpretive philosophy approach and qualitative method design to gather perceptions from a broad range of blockchain advisors. This was achieved through semi-structured interviews designed to capture their experience and knowledge. 

Findings  -  The finding addressed issues and potential solutions surrounding the conditions of The Blockchain Narrative, The Dream of Blockchain, Relationships with Stakeholders, and Organizational size and structure. Departing from these themes a theoretical model was developed to emphasize the interrelationships and processes associated with these conditions. It includes valuable managerial implications, including creating a more positive narrative around blockchain, defining more realistic and simple blockchain use cases that can be ramped up, nourishing relationships with regulators, web 3.0 developers, and advisors to stay compliant and for building competence and adapting to the firm’s size and structure. 

Contribution  -  It aims to fill the existing gap in the literature by adding nuance to the conditions influencing organizational readiness and subsequent derivation of implications for blockchain adoption. This study contributes to the academic discourse by emphasizing the perception of advisors on the technology adoption, while acknowledging limitations and suggesting venues for future research. The contribution involves a model capturing the advisor’s perceptions into actionable processes that can enhance organizational readiness for blockchain adoption. 

Bakgrund: Utvecklingen inom informationsteknik (IT) har skapat många möjligheter för samhället, vilket har lett till framgångsrika IT-bolag som erbjuder digitala produkter och tjänster. IT-sektorn har en hög tillväxttakt vilket attraherar investeringar och skapar jobbmöjligheter. Trots detta är risken att misslyckas inom IT-sektorn hög, och många nystartade IT-bolag överlever inte de första åren på grund av den dynamiska och komplexa miljön de verkar i. Inom IT-sektorn finns det tusentals nystartade bolag, och begreppen 'start-up' och 'scale-up' används för att beskriva dessa. Ett start-ups är ett ungt bolag i ett tidigt utvecklingsstadie, medan scale-up är ett bolag som har nått nästa tillväxtfas och strävar efter att öka sin omsättning och etablera sin marknadsposition. Ledarskapet i dessa miljöer har visat sig spela en avgörande roll för framgång i både start-ups och scale-ups, då miljön är ytterst osäker och snabbföränderlig. Däremot är det fortfarande oklart vilken typ av ledare, och mer specifikt vilka ledarskapskompetenser, som bidrar till ett framgångsrikt start-up respektive scale-up. Tidigare forskning pekar även på att ledarskap är högst kontextrelaterat, och att de ledarskapskompetenser som är viktiga i en kontext inte behöver vara densamma i en annan. Ledarskapskompetenser bör därmed identifieras och utvecklas för att säkerställa att ledaren innehar rätt färdigheter, kunskap, beteende och egenskaper som krävs för att nå strategiska mål och prestationsförväntningar i den specifika miljön. 

Syfte: Studiens syfte är att undersöka och få en ökad förståelse för vilka ledarskapskompetenser som associeras med framgång vid IT-bolags tillväxtfaser, start-up respektive scale-up.

Metod: Studien har ett kvalitativt tillvägagångssätt och utgår från en hermeneutisk ansats eftersom den syftar till att förstå och tolka företeelser inom det valda forskningsområdet. Vidare används en abduktiv ansats, vilket medför att forskare i denna studie växlar mellan empirisk och teoretisk reflektion. För insamling av empiri har semistrukturerade intervjuer nyttjas med noga utvalda respondenter. Insamlad empiri har sedan analyserats genom en tematisk analys.

Slutsats: Studiens resultat visar att det inte är någon markant skillnad mellan de ledarskapskompetenser som associeras med framgång i respektive tillväxtfas. Det tillkommer däremot några ledarskapskompetenser när bolaget skalar upp som relaterar till en ökad arbetsstyrka, vilket kräver mer fokus på struktur och omsorg av medarbetare. Vidare så pekar studiens resultat på att de ledarskapskompetenser som krävs i båda faserna kan behövas nyttjas annorlunda och till olika ändamål. De ledarskapskompetenser som anses krävas i båda tillväxtfaserna är visionär, uthållig, riskbenägen, strategisk, kundfokuserad, kunskapsorienterad, rekryteringsförmåga, omhändertagande, anpassningsbar och flexibel. De ledarskapskompetenser som tillkommer i scale-up är strukturförmåga, förtroende, kommunikativ och kunskapsöverförande.

Sweden has the goal of becoming best in the world of utilizing the possibilities created by digitalization to create an effective public sector and an easier everyday life for individuals and companies. During 2017, Sweden spent roughly 59 billion Swedish crowns on digitalization with help of external actors. Although these billions of Swedish crowns are spent, the country’s development pace is slower than other European countries. The Swedish authority Riksrevisionen has conducted an audit where they have identified that IT-projects often runs over budget and states that the public sector must streamline its use and procurement of IT. IT-projects have shown a trend of budget overruns and not meeting deadlines, not only in the public sector. In an attempt to turn the trend, the agile philosophy and different agile project models was formed. The agile approach has overall had a positive effect on IT-project and has been embraced in the private sector to a larger degree than the public sector.

We see cooperation between external supplier and the actor procuring information systems as well as the streamlining of IT-projects as a critical aspect of the Swedish digitalization. Since the agile approach has shown positive effects of IT-projects, this study has aimed to examine what prerequisites are present in the public sector for running projects in accordance of the agile philosophy. The procurement process and how it affects these prerequisites has received a lot of focus since the procurement law (SFS: 2016:1145) in Sweden implicates that the requirement specification, created by the contracting actor, is difficult to change.

In our case study, we have examined an implementation project in the public sector, led by an information system supplier in the private sector. We gathered qualitative data by interviewing employees of the supplier, involved in the project, effectively applying a supplier perspective to map perceived challenges in delivering information systems to the public sector. From the qualitative data we concluded that the procurement process has led to (1) difficulties with changing the requirement specification and proving fulfilment of requirements, (2) communication challenges between the customer and the supplier regarding requirements and (3) experienced lack of comprehension of requirements by the customer. Some organizational characteristics for the public sector have also been identified as a possible cause of communication challenges. The agile philosophy advocates close collaboration with stakeholders and expects changes to the requirement specification throughout the project. The conclusion is thus that the procurement process, in the studied project, has affected the prerequisites to run a project with an agile approach in a negative way. 

Many businesses today use enterprise resource planning systems (ERP) to handle their processes and information. ERP systems are generically designed to be able to fit a wide range of businesses. This generic composition creates a customization need, something that is not always so easy to handle. To customize ERP system is through research well known to be a both costly and complex task, several studies suggest the business should adapt to the system instead. From factors such as a rapid technical development, shifts in the market, and internal changes within the organization, need for change can arise over time. Likewise, new tools have been developed to meet business specific needs, such as the low-code BPM platform. Low-code BPM platforms can be seen as development tools for stand-alone applications and integrated solutions to be used to meet business needs. 

With a case study, we investigate how a low-code BPM platform can be used as an alternative for ERP customization, as well as what types of business needs a low-code BPM platform can meet. The study includes four interviews and an artifact study at a Swedish IT service company, who offer customers solutions developed through their low-code BPM platform. 

The results show low-code BPM platforms to be used as stand-alone applications, integration engines, or embedded in the ERP interface. Solutions developed on a low-code BPM platform have a clear focus on end-users. The study identifies business needs of mobile access to ERP-system, customization of processes according to existing business operations, increased access to information, guiding user interfaces, and improved collaboration

Stress is a growing problem in today's society. Employees suffer from fatigue syndrome andare forced to suffer sick leave for longer periods, which entails costs for both the society andthe employer. Some occupational groups are more vulnerable to stress than others. In the ITindustry, development is very fast, which means that employees must constantly keep up withthe new developments in order to stay in the loop. A project manager has a big responsibilityon his shoulders to lead projects, in our case containing 50 project members, this may be evenmore in larger organizations. Projects of this type may also include large budgets and whensuch a project fails, it has major consequences. Where these two areas overlap, stressfulsituations will undeniably occur.In this paper we have investigated which specific situations are stressing project managers inIT projects, how they are affected by this stress and what what the impact is on the projectsthat they operate. The purpose of this is to prevent stress in the future as well as to show thatthis could be a widespread problem in this industry. This could help project managers to seekhelp if they know that they are not alone in having this problem.To investigate this we have conducted five interviews at two different organizations. Onepublic and one private, however, we will not make a deeper comparison regarding thisparticular aspect since our selection area is too small for that. The interviews weresemi-structured to allow follow-up questions and were conducted in accordance with thedramaturgical model. All respondents have extensive experience in project management inthe IT industry, and the majority currently work as project managers. The empirical data isthen analyzed in conjunction with previous research within stress as well as the project area.Our results show that all the project managers in our interviews feel stress and that the stressis periodical. There are periods, for example, if an unforeseen problem arises where stresslevels can be problematic. A respondent tells of a project leader colleague who was burnedout and where our respondent had to take over the project. But none of the respondents sawthe stress as a reason for a career change, they all plan to continue in the industry. One of themost important methods of counteracting stress that we draw attention to is to prioritize theirduties and perform them in a logical order instead of taking care of everything at once. Wealso discovered that smartphones increases the stress levels of project managers since theyalways carry their work with them in their pocket and thus have trouble relaxing in their sparetime.

In this paper we present the Reconstruction and Exploration approach (R&E) and F-REX tool and their applications in a field exercise with the Swedish Rescue Services Agency with the purpose of investigating features needed for a computer supported approach for evaluation of large scale crisis management operations. After the exercise several interviews and one seminar were held to evaluate R&E as a representative for computer supported evaluation approaches for crisis management operations. Initial results indicate that multimedia presentation of key events from an operation can be very valuable not only to stimulate the participants to reflect on their own performance, but also to document and share lessons learned to non-participants.

The term semi-professional can be used to denote occupational groups that do not have emergency response as their primary profession but who get additional responsibilities within rescue and response, e.g. by performing a first response or assisting the professional emergency services. In this study, four different groups of possible semi-professional resources are analyzed and compared. Similarities and differences between the four groups are discussed. Factors, important for the successful implementation of a cross-sector collaboration of this kind, are highlighted. The preliminary results show that all four groups have the potential to act as semi-professional resources within emergency response. Interestingly, the basic requirements are the same for all groups, despite different prerequisites.

Användandet av så kallade semiprofessionella resurser i räddningsinsatser har blivit allt vanligare i Sverige. En semiprofessionell är en person som fått utökade arbetsuppgifter inom respons och räddning inom ramen för sitt ordinarie yrke. Det kanske mest kända exemplet är väktare som responderar på den kommunala räddningstjänstens ärenden.

I det projekt som avrapporteras här, är syftet att undersöka vilka yrkesgrupper som skulle passa bra som semiprofessionella, och vad som krävs för att de effektivt ska kunna utföra de nya arbetsuppgifterna, bland annat i form av utbildning och utrustning. Vidare syftar projektet till att utvärdera vilken samhällsnytta semiprofessionella kan bidra med. Som studieobjekt används Norrköpings kommun, och via en aktionsforskningsinspirerad metodansats är målet att projektresultaten ska kunna bidra till en ökad säkerhet och trygghet i kommunen.

En kombination av kvalitativa och kvantitativa metoder används för att uppnå syftet. Genom workshops identifieras först fyra potentiella yrkesgrupper (räddningstjänstens dagtidspersonal, hemtjänstpersonal, förvaltningsentreprenörer och väktare), för vilka detaljerad data erhålls via fokusgruppsintervjuer. En grupp (räddningstjänstens dagtidspersonal) väljs ut för vidare analys, och ytterligare en workshop genomförs, plus ett experiment i form av en simulerad olycka där semiprofessionella får göra en första insats. En prototyp av ett utlarmningssystem tas fram, inklusive en smartphoneapplikation som de semiprofessionella kan använda för att ta emot och hantera larm. Med hjälp av applikationen utförs ett experiment där historiska larm skickas till potentiella semiprofessionella under två månaders tid, och de får svara på om de kan åka eller inte, samtidigt som deras position noteras. Genom att jämföra deltagarnas uppskattade insatstider med räddningstjänstens historiska, kan möjliga insatstidsförkortningar beräknas. Detta kompletteras med en bedömning av vad de kan bidra med i respektive händelse.

Bedömningen görs enligt en strukturerad metod av professionell personal från två olika räddningstjänstorganisationer. De beräknade insatstiderna och den skattade förmågan vägs samman till en monetär nytta av den semiprofessionella insatsen.

Resultatet visar att det finns ett stort antal yrkesgrupper som skulle kunna vara lämpliga att nyttja som semiprofessionella. I rapporten redovisas en lista med 23 grupper som anses ha potential och möjlighet att utföra räddningsinsatser som en del av sitt yrke. Vidare redovisas ett antal utmaningar och möjligheter, baserat på analysen av de fyra utvalda grupperna. En konkret sammanställning har gjorts i form av listor på utbildning och utrustning som krävs för att de effektivt kunna utföra sitt nya uppdrag. Dessa krav är förhållandevis enkla att uppfylla, och handlar om grundläggande utbildning i riskbedömning, brandsläckning och livräddande åtgärder, samt utrustning som tex handbrandsläckare och förbandslåda. Mer utmanande är de organisatoriska förändringar som är nödvändiga för att de semiprofessionella akut ska kunna lämna sina pågående arbetsuppgifter, samt hur utlarmningen ska kunna integreras i de tekniska system som används för professionella räddningsresurser. Vidare visar resultaten att semiprofessionella kan larmas, och förväntas göra nytta på en stor mängd olika typer av händelser, dock främst vid händelser med personskador eller akuta sjukdomsförlopp. Den monetära nyttan av att införa ett fåtal (i snitt 3,4 st) semiprofessionella i Norrköping och Linköpings kommuner beräknades till mellan 600 000 och 2 400 000 kr per år, beroende på hur lång tid det tar för de semiprofessionella ifrån att de får larm tills de påbörjar färden mot händelseplatsen.

En slutsats från projektet är att semiprofessionella skulle bidra till en ökad säkerhet och trygghet i Norrköping kommun, om de används som förstainsatsresurser, som ett komplement till befintlig professionell räddningspersonal.

By training and equipping human resources from other public service sectors than emergency response, to act as first responders, it is possible to reduce the first response times at a low cost. Before launching such an initiative, it is however important to evaluate the potential benefits. In this work, a method for doing this kind of evaluation is developed and applied to a potential initiative, utilizing fire service day personnel as new first responders. By developing a smartphone application and performing an experiment, sending alerts to potential first responders, and combining this with expert reviews of the possible value of their contribution, it is possible to estimate the response time reductions, as well as the monetary benefits of the initiative. The results show that there is a monetary benefit, even with a low number of new first responders, but that it is highly dependent on how quickly they can start travelling towards the emergency site. © 2020 Elsevier Ltd

Automation in the Swedish labor market will replace existing jobs and tasks but will also create new opportunities for the workforce. Process automation, which involves technology working partially or completely on its own, often replaces routine and repetitive work. Technological advancements create new conditions for the labor market and influences the work environment. When planning, designing, developing and implements new technology in a working context, it is most important to include knowledge regarding the work environments aspects. This approach can create new workforce opportunities while improving efficiency, security, job satisfaction, health, and the sustainability. Additionally, it can assist employees and employers in utilizing technology in a way that benefits both the organization and its workforce. 

Previous studies have shown a knowledge gap regarding how employees perceive the impact of process automation on their digital work environment. Existing research primarily focuses on the emergence or absence of new work opportunities and their distribution among different working groups.  This study aims to address this gap by examining how process automation specifically affects the employees' work environment. The digital work environment is conceptualized in this study by considering three key aspects: 1) the technical components of the systems, 2) the adaption of the systems to human users, and 3) the influence of the systems on work assignments. 

The result of this study shows that the process automation service is currently utilized in various aspects of work, including incident reporting, decision making, orders, managing employees, evolution of work methods, goal settings, follow-ups, and investment processes. However, technical disruption has an impact on the digital work environment, such as system updates during working hours or system downtime. Regarding the system's adaptability to human use, participants perceived a lack of user-friendliness, finding the system difficult to navigate and immature. On the other hand, they also perceived the system as simple, requiring minimal clicks. Process automation has improved employees' task performance but has simultaneously increased the demand for technical competence and complexity in certain tasks.  

Att identifiera sig är något vi gör i många olika vardagssituationer; exempelvis när vi ska styrka vår ålder i krogkön, uträtta bankärenden eller bli insläppta av vakten på en bevakad arbetsplats. För att identifiera oss i dessa situationer använder vi oftast någon form av fysisk identitetshandling; ett körkort, pass eller ID-kort. Samtidigt har vi idag ett samhälle där allt fler ärenden går att utföra via nätet, där såväl offentliga som kommersiella aktörer erbjuder elektroniska tjänster (e-tjänster) i ökande omfattning. Vi blir därmed alltmer beroende av informationsteknik (IT) i samhället för att samverka och kommunicera effektivt och enkelt. Vår riskexponering och sårbarhet ökar i takt med att vi utför allt fler ärenden via e-tjänster. Känslig information kan utnyttjas av obehöriga eller missbrukas på olika sätt.

Elektronisk identifiering blir i dessa sammanhang en viktig komponent och förutsättning för att kunna erbjuda och använda effektiva och säkra e-tjänster. När man identifierar sig på nätet och i IT-system kan man göra det på många olika sätt; man kan logga in med användarnamn och lösenord, använda elektroniska ID-lösningar (eID) med dosor och koder, scanna fingeravtryck, använda e-tjänstekort och kortläsare eller RFID-teknik. Man skulle kunna betrakta dessa identifieringslösningar som rent tekniska landvinningar, som bara syftar till att man ska kunna nå den e-tjänst man vill använda. Likt en nyckel som används för att låsa upp dörren så att man kommer in i sitt hus. Vi menar dock att det är en alldeles för snäv syn på elektronisk identifiering – den behöver vara vidare än så för att vara fruktbar och kunna sättas i meningsfulla sammanhang av exempelvis design, utvärdering och vidareutveckling.

Även om det är en teknisk lösning (en artefakt) med en begränsad uppgift vi avser, så kan dess utformning och sättet den införs och används på få stora konsekvenser för hela användningssituationen. Med artefakt menas här konstruerade föremål i form av olika tekniska lösningar och människors meningar kopplade till dessa. Identifieringslösningen påverkar både säkerheten i sig och den bild vi får av den e-tjänst eller det IT-system där vi identifierar oss. Dessutom påverkar den också bilden vi har av det sammanhang där vi använder identifieringslösningen. Om vi använder en e-tjänst som erbjuds av exempelvis den kommun där vi bor, påverkas också vår tilltro till kommunen och samhället av hur vi uppfattar identifieringslösningen och e-tjänsten. Samma resonemang gäller om vi köper en vara av ett privat företag på nätet. Med andra ord påverkas samhällets såväl som företagens legitimitet av hur vi som medborgare eller kunder uppfattar olika IT-lösningar.

Den här boken handlar därför om de möjligheter och utmaningar som elektronisk identifiering kan innebära för individer, organisationer och samhället. Vi talar inte om isolerade tekniska problem i första hand, utan anlägger ett vidare perspektiv på de möjligheter och problem som kommer med e-tjänster och elektronisk identifiering.

Vi har skrivit den här boken för att dela med oss av en del av de tankar och insikter som vi fått under projektet. Syftet med boken är att sätta ljuset på ett antal teman som framstår som centrala för utveckling och användning av elektronisk identifiering. Vi beskriver tre exempel som hämtar inspiration från våra studier inom projektet. Utifrån dessa exempel lyfter vi fram ett antal teman och diskuterar dessa samt sammanfattar utmaningar som vi sett i våra studier. Vår förhoppning är att Du som läser vår bok kan använda våra resonemang för att diskutera frågorna vidare i det praktiska sammanhang som Du befinner Dig i. Oavsett om Du finns på ett kommunkontor, i ett landsting, i en myndighet eller i en privat livssituation. Vi har inte haft ambitionen att skriva en vetenskaplig, teorirelaterad text, men Du som vill läsa forskningsbaserade publikationer från projektet hittar lästips i slutet av boken.

This study explores the effect that AI may have on relational selling in B2B sales processes, and how it can be incorporated effectively in relational selling. B2B sales processes are complex and often put a high importance on the relationship between buyer and seller. This relationship is also essential within relational selling. Research shows that the use of AI in the workplace and within sales processes are increasing. With the importance of relationship-building activities within B2B sales processes, and the increased use of AI, how to incorporate AI in a B2B sales process and the effect it may have on relational selling is of interest to study further. This is done by conducting a literature review focused on relational selling, AI, and the seven steps of selling, and by conducting a single case study. The case study entails interviewing and observing a case company who employs both AI and relational selling in their B2B sales process. The data collected is then analyzed with the earlier research on the subject. The result is an updated sales funnel, which is based on the seven steps of selling and contains elements of both relational selling and AI features that can be used in each step of the sales funnel. The term AIRS (AI Relational Selling) is developed to highlight the important relationship between sellers and AI in the B2B sales process. AIRS describes the cooperation of AI and humans, which is needed for AI to refine the sales process. Lastly the analysis concludes in the importance of finding a balance when using AI in relational selling, to achieve optimal results.

Sveriges regering har satt som mål att Sverige ska vara en ledande nation i digitalisering. Enligt målen ska offentlig sektor effektiviseras med hjälp av digitala medel, vilket ställer krav på att stora och komplexa förändringsprojekt inom IT förverkligas för att skapa långsiktiga lösningar. Tidigare forskning pekar på att för att lyckas med IT-projekt så förutsätter det identifikation av faktorer som kan påverka både process och resultat. Ett exempel är Critical Success Factors, kritiska framgångsfaktorer, för implementering av större övergripande system och vilka faktorer som påverkar resultatet av en implementering. För att lyckas finns det även en uppsjö modeller gällande förändringsledning, i vilka vi kan se likheter till framgångsfaktorer. Ett exempel är Action Research-Based Model of Change som framhåller vikten av att engagera intressenter tidigt i förändringsprocessen, stöd från ledning, utse förändringsförespråkare i form av agenter, med mera. ADKAR är ytterligare en modell för förändringsledning med individen som utgångspunkt och därutöver finns forskning som utvecklar tankarna om förändringsagenter och pratar om vikten av att dessa organiseras i team och att de i sin tur har ordentligt stöd från ledningen. Trots den stora tillgången på förändringsmodeller och framgångsfaktorer, misslyckas upp till 70 procent av förändringsprojekt och därför menar forskare att det behövs ytterligare bidrag till forskning på ämnet. Detsamma gäller för offentlig sektor, men där tidigare forskning saknas i stor utsträckning och vilket därför medför ett större behov.

Inom offentlig sektor kan förändringsprojekt anses komplexa, vilket blir tydligt i denna fallstudie av förarbetet kopplat till en omfattande IT-implementation hos Linköpings kommun. Med cirka 8000 anställda och sju förvaltningar spridda över ett ännu större antal affärsområden, innebär det en stor utmaning att ta hänsyn till för att lyckas med förändringsprojektet. Genom intervjuer gjorda med ett spritt urval av respondenter från Linköpings kommun, har vi kunnat identifiera en huvudutmaning samt tre underordnade utmaningar. Den huvudutmaning vi definierat som en organisatorisk ​mångfald påverkar i stort sett alla delar av förändringen och bör därför ses som en övergripande utmaning. I tillägg till denna har vi sett tre större utmaningar; ​medvetenhet i verksamheten, ​skapa engagemang och hantera förväntningar ​och till sist fördelning av tid och resurser.​

Förändringsprojekt ställer alltså höga krav på organisationer och speciellt på kommuner där en komplex verksamhetsstruktur bidrar med ytterligare utmaningar. Utmaningar kopplat till organisatorisk mångfald och hur det ska hanteras innefattas av de tre övriga utmaningar som vi identifierat. Vår slutsats är att medvetenhet i verksamheten främst skapas genom transparent kommunikation. Att skapa engagemang och hantera förväntningar bygger på förståelse genom involvering av medarbetare. Den sista utmaningen är fördelning av tid och resurser och bör bemötas med noggrann planering och struktur anpassat efter respektive förvaltnings behov.

In order to balance between citizen and agency aspects’ importance and visibility in public e-service development, the question how to involve different stakeholders is often raised. However, identifying and analyzing several internal as well as external stakeholders in relation to e-government development raises some ethical questions: Who should participate and who should not? For what reasons do we involve stakeholders? What will the result of stakeholder participation and involvement be? In this article empirical findings from an egovernment project are revisited and discussed from an ethical perspective. The main conclusion is that we need to consider ethical aspects of stakeholder participation in e-government projects more thoroughly. The ethical discussion in stakeholder participation rhetoric has often been shallow. An important task for e-government researchers is therefore to address this discussion in public e-service development,as the results in terms of quality of the e-services as well as citizen benefits are at stake.

This paper questions the idea of data stability. We focus on core ideas behind an information centric strategy concerning stability in databases (created through enterprise-wide data modeling). We investigate if and how data stability is obtained when an information centric strategy is implemented in practice. We claim that, even though there are many research contributions about information centric strategies, there are still few papers focusing on problems concerning consequences of the strategies’ practical implementation. This is, however, an important issue since data integration is a key element of strategic management in, e.g., ERP-systems, data mining applications, and service-oriented architecture (SOA). It is, thus, most important not to neglect existing experiences, when developing the IT systems of tomorrow. The result of our two case studies reveal four tactics focusing on actions conducted to obtain and maintain stability in databases. The tactics are 1) change avoidance, 2) anticipated generalization, 3) constructive standardization, and 4) expansion to new application areas.

Many of today's city planning projects aim to realize smart city ambitions. In order to plan and build a smart city district, where ICT is integrated in critical infrastructure and used to control and govern city functions in innovative ways, new ways of working in city planning are needed. The purpose of this article is to develop a framework that takes into account stakeholders and smartness dimensions in city planning. We have studied a city district development in Sweden where a new planning approach was implemented. The developed framework was used to analyze the complexity of this city planning process. By defining which smartness dimension each stakeholder primarily focus on and analyzing the consequences of this, the framework pinpoints each stakeholder's contribution and/or hindrance to the process and outcome. A recommendation from this study is that new stakeholder groups are important to involve in smart city planning, but this also adds complexity that must be acknowledged when setting up this kind of projects. The developed framework can be useful when organizing and staffing city planning processes as well as when evaluating project outcomes.

In this paper, we approach the field of critical success factors (CSF) by analyzing a successful case of IT implementation within the public health sector. The purpose of the paper is to gain further understanding of if and how well CSFs can explain a successful case. The main conclusion drawn is that even though the studied organization shows signs of common CSFs, this alone cannot explain the success. An important contribution from this study is thus the focus on contextual factors when trying to understand what makes an implementation project successful.

Smart cities have been studied for many years, but smart homes and the citizens' actual living in these smart homes are less researched. We argue that for digital government research, and for governments to be successful in smart city development in practice, it is necessary not only to understand living on a societal level, but also living aspects in the narrow context of homes. Citizens populate the smart city and are the ones who are supposed to use the services provided by the government. In this article we explore and analyze digital and analogue services in smart homes developed in a new city district. We have conducted observational studies in 53 apartments during an urban living expo which we analyze by applying a set of socio-technical design principles. The research question that guides the analysis is: “What tensions between values in digital and analogue services for a smart living can be revealed by a socio-technical perspective?”. We identify five tensions between: 1) being in control and being controlled, 2) intended and undesirable use of personal data, 3) digital and analogue smartness, 4) smart home visions and practices, and 5) environmental and social sustainability. By revealing these tensions, we contribute to an understanding of the complexity of smart living. We also contribute by highlighting the importance of applying a perspective that captures both technology and citizen and user issues (i.e., social aspects) when developing services in the smart home context.

This paper explores how policy documents carry and institutionalize smart city ideas from high policy level to concrete policy level in an urban development context. We analyze the national urban development vision for Sweden and documents in a local urban development project in a Swedish city, in order to explore what kind of roles and expectations ICT is given in these documents. We contrast this with views of how social and environmental aspects are discussed in the studied documents. In order to understand and analyze the result we apply the concept of institutional carriers from institutional theory to our findings. Our analysis shows that as carriers of how ICT can contribute to increased sustainabilityin urban development, the policy documents do not function very well. ICT aspects are not put forth by any policy-making actor, neither on national nor on local level. The notion of institutional carriers helped us understand that without a responsible actor focusing on ICT’s role in smart cities, it is easy to forget or lose sight of technology

This paper discusses how several stakeholders in a public e-service development project consider a future e-service and expected changes in administrative processes and working routines. Our findings indicate a much more multifaceted view than the common win-win situation, with increased quality for citizens and increased efficiency for agencies, which is rhetorically put forth as an effect of public e-service implementation. We have studied a development project resulting in an e-service for handling student anonymity when marking written exams in higher education. In this case we have identified five distinct stakeholder groups related to this e-service; students, teachers, course administrators, exam guards, and the university at an agency level. All of them having certain expectations and fears about the new situation. By presenting this diversity in opinions we add further understanding to the notion of e-services as being more or less beneficial for certain stakeholders.

The main goals of e-government are to increase agency efficiency and offer benefits to citizens. These goals have often been addressed as two interplaying outcomes of public e-service development, which are possible to achieve in parallel. This article shows that the two frequently applied stakeholders of e-government (agencies and citizens) are much too extensive and heterogeneous in order to be meaningfully addressed in public e-service conceptualization and development. We conduct a stakeholder centered analysis of a public e-service development and implementation process in order to identify stakeholder groups and discuss how they differ in their perceptions and, consequently, also in their feelings of relevance and need related to the e-service. By adopting a multi-faceted perspective on stakeholders, public e-service development can be analyzed and understood in a way that takes several stakeholder groups into account. Our study contributes with deeper insights about a situation where stakeholder salience changes over time, while some stakeholder groups have low salience during the entire process. The result of conducting a stakeholder centered analysis is that we, by visualizing the stakeholder groups' differences, are better prepared to meet and combine different needs related to a planned e-service. Thus, we argue that a stakeholder centered analysis of expectations and opinions concerning the e-service help to develop e-services possible to succeed in offering both external service and internal efficiency.

In this article we discuss in what ways an e-government project can give both expected and unexpected effects for agency employees and their working tasks. The purpose of this article is to illustrate the fact that, besides the aim to increase agency efficiency and citizen benefit, e-government implementation might also change the salience of involved stakeholders. We do this by focusing on one stakeholder group which was reluctant and hesitating in the beginning of the studied project; marginalized, passive, easily convinced, and old-fashioned. After the e-government implementation, this group had turned to satisfied, proud, influential, active, powerful, and modern IT users. The case shows how stakeholder salience might change over time in an e-government project. Stakeholder influence aspects and IT driven change aspects are intertwined. This makes it necessary for any e-government project to address the notion of stakeholder involvement in decision-making during the development and implementation phases, but also to acknowledge e-services force to change how things and people are perceived during these phases.

Bakgrund och syfte: Det finns en ny generation av organisatorisk automatisering kallad hyper- automation. Till skillnad från klassisk automation omfattar hyperautomation en samordnad tillämpning av olika avancerade automatiseringstekniker, såsom RPA, AI och ML, som kan tillämpas för att automatisera såväl rutinmässiga som mer kognitivt krävande arbetsuppgifter. Konceptets utformning och tillämpning är ännu tämligen outforskade områden, vilket skapar ovisshet gällande dess effekter och implikationer inom de sociala kontexter där de skapas och används. Följaktligen finns ett behov av ytterligare studier rörande människa och automation i hybrid, varför denna uppsats syftar till att utforska hyperautomation i allmänhet, och dess utformning och tillämpning i synnerhet. Särskild uppmärksamhet ägnas åt de aktiviteter och implikationer som uppstår i människa-maskin-interaktionerna som hyperautomationsprocessen innebär och eftersträvar, samt hur olika organisatoriska aktörer upplever och reflekterar kring dessa. Detta uppfylls genom att granska hur ett konsultföretag, som förmedlar hyperautomationslösningar, och ett av dess kundföretag, observerar de kort- och långsiktiga effekterna av och målen med införandet av hyperautomation.

Litteraturgenomgång: Uppsatsens teoretiska utgångspunkt underbyggs av tidigare forskning avseende fyra väsentliga intresseområden – människa, digital teknik och organisation, hyperautomation, HR och digitalisering samt digital innovation. Vidare guidas studiens analys och diskussion av två teoretiska ramverk; Distribuerad kognition och Ramverket för ansvarsfull innovation.

Metod: Uppsatsen utgörs av en kvalitativ fallstudie, med abduktiv ansats, som baseras på insikter från både tidigare forskning och empiriska resultat. Empirin genereras genom semistrukturerade intervjuer med sju respondenter, varav tre tillhör det studerade kundföretaget och resterande fyra är verksamma inom konsultföretaget. Bearbetning av insamlade data sker enligt en tematisk analys, vilken mynnar ut i fyra huvudteman och totalt tio underteman.

Resultat: Resultatsammanställningen struktureras i enlighet med studiens fyra huvudteman; beslutet att hyperautomatisera, samordning, processen att hyperautomatisera samt framtidsutsikter. Kortfattat baseras hyperautomationsinitiativet på en ambition om att spara tid och pengar, samt att avlasta linjecheferna. Vidare identifieras brister avseende samordningen av onboardingprocessens involverade moment och aktörer. Beträffande processen att hyperautomatisera beslutas att denna ska ske i iterationer. Samtidigt som detta bedöms vara positivt för att komma igång, hinner inte förvaltningen med att hantera alla de problem som påträffas under användningen av hyperautomationslösningarna. De studerade företagen ser likväl positivt på framtiden och har ambitioner om att utöka hyperautomationen med fler avancerade digitala tekniker, såsom AI. Utmaningarna gällande samordning och kommunikation måste dock hanteras dessförinnan.

Diskussion och slutsatser: Hyperautomationen är välkommen och efterlängtad som koncept, men det uppstår problem avseende både dess praktiska utformning och tillämpning. Dessa bekymmer härleds till bristen på balanserad samordning och kommunikation, med särskild emfas vid avsaknaden av tidiga inputs från slutanvändarna.

This paper explores organizational work environment issues related to Human Resource (HR) process automation. While HR process automation promises efficiency and productivity gains, it also introduces new challenges. These include organizational changes in the conditions and requirements for work, with the potential of significant impact on the employees’ working with these technologies. Our research examines this relationship, highlighting the need to consider organizational work environment issues early in the automation process. We present preliminary findings from a literature analysis and an ongoing case study on automation of the onboarding process at a large industrial company, emphasizing the need for user involvement throughout the design, implementation, and use of the automated system. The study contributes by illustrating the relationship between HR process automation and work environment. Our continued and future work aims to contribute with theoretical insights on, and practical guidelines for, organizational work environment interventions related to HR process automation.

Problematization: Despite the fact that most Swedish citizens today have  access to internet and digital technology, there are still groups in the society that are not included in the digital community, and the digital divides are continuously present. The public sector must foster digital inclusion, which creates difficulties when they simultaneously must keep up with the digital development. Nonetheless, there is limited research on digital divides related to e-government, specifically from an interorganizational perspective, and regarding what practical challenges that emerge in the formation of digital services which must take digital divides into consideration. Hence, this is a case study in which challenges mentioned above are researched in Blankettfritt 2020; a digitalization project in Linköpings kommun. 

Research questions:

• Which practical challenges related to digital divides have emerged in the digitalization project Blankettfritt 2020 in the municipality of Linköping?

• How is the consideration of the third level of digital divides indicated in the digitalization project Blankettfritt 2020 in the municipality och Linköping?

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to research and analyze challenges related to the formation of e-services in municipal organizations, in particular those challenges that emerge in regard to creating digital inclusion and the aspiration to reduce digital divides.

Conclusion: This study has shown that working with digital divides is challenging considering the complex and contextual character of the phenomenon. It is challenging to identify which digital divides that exist in a specific context and why they emerge. To create digital inclusion by bridging digital divides with digital instead of analog solutions is an additional challenge. Furthermore, the work concerning digital divides might be disrupted by interorganizational resistance to change as a result of digital transformation. Lastly, it is challenging to concretize what the third level of digital divides is referring to, which makes it difficult to take this level into consideration.

Knowledge contribution: This study contributes with a practical understanding for challenges that can emerge when municipal organizations want to digitalize their services and simultaneously take digital divides into consideration. Furthermore, the study extends earlier research through a conceptual model which illustrates the structure for the three levels of digital divides, and how these relate to motivation.

Informationssystem används i organisationer för att fylla olika slags behov. Den här uppsatsensyftar till att undersöka hur dessa behov påverkar valet av informationssystem, samt hur dessabehov uppfylls av informationssystemet. För att utforska dessa behov användes enlitteraturstudie tillsammans med en empiriskt grundad kvalitativ undersökning. Dendatainsamlingsmetod som användes för att samla in empirin var en fallstudie hos Motalakommun, som genom kvalitativa semistrukturerade intervjuer beskrev de olikaverksamheternas behov i organisationen samt organisationens övergripande behov.

Behovet som organisationer har av informationssystem beskrivs i teorin, där det ska användasför att stödja användarnas arbetsuppgifter. Arbetsuppgifterna kan sedan skilja sig åt beroendepå i vilken verksamhet inom organisationen som användaren arbetar inom. Litteraturenbeskriver även att de olika verksamheterna kan ha haft olika mycket inflytande på valet avinformationssystem, vilket gör att olika verksamheter fått sina behov mer uppfyllda avinformationssystemet än vad andra verksamheter inom organisationen kan ha fått.

I den empiriska studien utforskades ett standardiserat informationssystem vilket ska användasav användare i samtliga verksamheter inom organisationen. De olika verksamheterna bidrogmed sina behov vid valet av informationssystemet, där tillgänglighet för organisationensmedborgare och underlag till statistik var två stora och gemensamma behov mellanverksamheterna. Empirin visade även på ouppfyllda behov samt oanade behov sominformationssystemet uppfyllde. De oanade behoven var i form av funktioner sominformationssystemet bidrog med vilka verksamheterna först identifierade vid användandet avinformationssystemet. Empirin gav även bilden av att en särskild verksamhets behov har varitdominanta över övriga verksamheters behov, vilket ledde till att denna verksamhetsarbetsuppgifter fått större stöd av informationssystemet än vad övriga verksamhetersarbetsuppgifter fått.

Litteraturstudien gav på så vis ett resultat som liknande den empiriska undersökningen.Mycket av det som går att finna i tidigare forskning går att finna i verkligheten, i alla fallinom den organisation som vi studerade.

Today there are great opportunities to gather data related to a company’s customers, processes, goods and services no matter what line of business they are in. If you have resources and are interested there are endless opportunities to gather data, analyze it and then use it to develop and optimize the company. The purpose of this study is to examine challenges when it comes to the use of stored data in business intelligence and to look into which factors that affects the process of turning stored data into usable information that can be used when making marketing decisions. I have chosen to focus on the organizational aspects and connections between business intelligence and marketing with the help of a case study. The study uses a qualitative research approach and the empirical data consists of qualitative semi-structured interviews and data collection in terms of clustering. All empirical data has been gathered from a large Swedish IT-company. A thematic analysis of gathered empirical data leads to a result showing that there are a number of challenges when it comes to using stored data in business intelligence at a large Swedish IT-company. These challenges consist of; unclear visions and goals, economic priorities, unclear terminology and the approach to organizational structures. Results from the study also points out several factors that lies behind why all available data at a large Swedish IT-company is not used to its fullest potential within marketing. These factors are; old habits and adaptability to new technology, management and communication and finally time constraints and knowledge management.

I have been able to see with this study that it takes a fundamental purpose to analyze something and that it is not certain that such a purpose always exists. It is hard to transform data into valuable information and also to optimize decision making if this purpose does not exist. There are many studies which demonstrate either the awareness by companies of the problems facing them in dealing with high volumes of data and/or their admission that they have a long way to cope with these volumes. I have with this study been able to see that this research problem may be useful and that it is highly relevant within a large Swedish IT-company.

The concept of digital divides has been on the agenda in research and policy making for at least the last 20 years. But it is still, a challenge to grasp this concept that is so elusive and transforming. Inclusion, access and equality are still key values for democratic governance and must be addressed in particular when forming and contributing to a digital government. This paper seeks to intervene in current debates on digital divides and digital inclusion by analyzing two cases of responses among street-level public administration in relation to e-government services in Sweden. The case studies are strategically chosen and conducted in national agencies and in local public libraries. Three lines of contributions are discussed, firstly the importance to care for equality secondly the need to see the non-users, and thirdly to discuss the potential of putting focus on digital diversity.

This article presents a case study on the use of open data in the Scandinavian parliaments (Norway, Sweden, and Denmark). While the three countries have all opened the gates and provided access to data-for example, on the voting in parliament, debates, and notes from meetings in committees-the uptake and use of data outside the parliaments is limited. While journalists and academia are users of the open data, hackathons and third-party portals are at an explorative level. Still, there are indicators that hackathons can enhance democracy, and parliamentary data can increase political transparency.

Bakgrund och problemformulering: Antalet cyberattacker har ökat exponentiellt de senaste åren(Taherdoost, 2022), och en stor utmaning är att de ständigt förändras (Kont, 2024; Williams, 2023;Yusif & Hafeez-Baig, 2021). Ett återkommande problem som gör att organisationer utsätts förattacker beror på otillräcklig kunskap och resurser för att hantera cyberattacker framgångsrikt(Gafni & Levy, 2023). Medarbetares bristfälliga riskmedvetenhet och kunskap har resulterat i att 83procent av alla cybersäkerhetsincidenter härleds till deras beteende (Kont, 2024). För att ökakunskapen bör organisationer utforma en motståndskraftig informationssäkerhetspolicyinnehållande utbildning av personal, riktlinjer för hantering av digitala verktyg och enkrisberedskapsplan (Fernandez De Arroyabe et al., 2023). Problemet är således att de ekonomiskaresurserna inte räcker till för att upprätthålla en komplett cybersäkerhetsmiljö (Chodakowska et al.,2022). 

Syfte: Studien syftar till att förklara hur svenska kommuner hanterar cybersäkerhet och vilkenpåverkan cyberattacker har på cybersäkerhetsarbetet. I avsikt att nå den kunskapen, undersökskommuner som har utsatts för en cyberattack, och deras cybersäkerhetsarbete innan, under och efterrespektive cyberattack.

Metod: Kvalitativ flerfallsstudie av två svenska kommuner med en abduktiv ansats somkompletteras med en bakgrundsstudie med två cybersäkerhetsexperter. Flerfallstudien består avdokumentstudier och djupintervjuer som genomförts med tre respondenter från varje kommun. Detutgör den empiriska datainsamlingen och presenteras enligt en narrativ struktur. Analysen följernarrativet och kombineras med en tematisk analys av teman som identifierats i intervjuerna medrespondenter från både flerfallstudien och bakgrundsstudien. 

Slutsats: Kommunerna arbetar med bristande ekonomiska resurser som genomsyrar arbetet medcybersäkerhet. Innan cyberattacken skedde i kommunen fanns det en attityd av att det inte kommerhända oss och varför skulle en cyberbrottsling vilja hacka mig. Under cyberattacken fanns det entydlig ansvarsfördelning med en krisledningsgrupp i spetsen som var handlingskraftig för deåtgärder som sattes in. Det proaktiva säkerhetsarbetet var bristfälligt i båda kommunerna, men delyckades hantera attacken och anpassa sig efter de påföljande konsekvenserna. Det finns en tydligskillnad i kommunernas arbete med cybersäkerhet och de åtgärder som vidtagits efter cyberattackenjämfört med innan. Underhåll och uppföljningar av säkerhetsåtgärder är avgörande för kommunenscybersäkerhet och behöver genomföras kontinuerligt. Ett större gemensamt ansvar förcybersäkerhet behöver tas generellt i samhället av den enskilda individen och i organisationer avmedarbetare, chefer och ledning. 

In Sweden, a government eID has long been a concept that has not been realized. The development of government eID in both Sweden and around the world has been problematic. Even if a government eID is developed, adoption of this can also be problematic. Therefore, this study examines the current situation in Sweden with eID and discusses the conditions needed and challenges with a government eID. This study resulted in three relationships that we believe are of great importance for eID in general and for Swedish government eID: 1) relationship between an individual and IT, 2) relationship between individual and organization and 3) inter-organizational relationships. These three relationships create conditions for continuous operation of the current eID in Sweden, but also discuss possible challenges within those relations and challenges a government eID can meet. 

Bakgrund: Sveriges digitaliseringsstrategi förutsätter ett aktivt arbete med digitalisering som ska vägledas av offentliga strategier. Offentliga organisationer förväntas bedriva ett aktivt digitaliseringsarbete och därmed är det viktigt att mellanchefer får bra möjligheter för att genomföra detta arbete. Som medlare av en strategi har mellanchefer en central betydelse för att åstadkomma framgångsrika strategiska initiativ. Att arbeta utifrån kommunala styrdokument som mellanchef kan vara en utmanande process eftersom dessa dokument många gånger ger utrymme för tolkning. Denna studie är därmed tänkt att fokusera på hur mellanchefer omsätter sådana styrdokument i praktiken.

Syfte: Syftet med studien är att undersöka mellanchefers arbete med digitalisering i praktiken. Detta görs genom att undersöka de styrdokument som färgar det kommunala digitaliseringsarbetet. Vidare avser studien att belysa hur styrdokument används i mellanchefers digitaliseringsarbete.

Metod: Studien har ett kvalitativ tillvägagångssätt och utgår från en huvudsaklig induktiv ansats. En fallstudie med interpretivistiska tillvägagångssätt genomfördes i en större svensk kommun. Empiri samlades in genom dokumentstudier och semistrukturerade intervjuer med mellanchefer. Dataanalys av materialet genomfördes tematiskt.

Slutsats: Studien resulterar i en konceptualisering av strategiskapandet som påvisar hur dynamiken med kontext, mellanchefer och styrdokument förhåller sig i arbetet med mellanchefers omsättande av styrdokument. Studiens resultat indikerar att mellanchefer har en betydande roll i att möjliggöra meningsfulla styrdokument som omsätts i praktiken. Ett särskilt resultat i detta är att mellanchefer antar olika roller i arbetet med styrdokument i form av: översättare, resursfordrare, riktningssättare och väktare. Ur studien har det också framkommit att mellanchefer upplever att styrdokument som förekommer på mer kommunövergripande nivå är svåra att omsätta eftersom de pekar på en mer generell riktning. Det framkommer att samtliga mellanchefer inte är insatta i denna typ av dokument, vilket tyder på att de saknar direkt vägledning genom sådana styrdokument. Detta resultat är inte helt oväntat men belyser samtidigt behovet av dess översättning till verksamhetsnivå. Till skillnad är styrdokument på operativ nivå mer praktiskt användbara. 

Since its first appearance as the infrastructure supporting Bitcoin, blockchain has received different waves of attention from practitioners and academics. Besides the degree of interest, the attention to blockchain has often focused not merely on its own potential and characteristics but on its applications field. However, looking at its application and deployment in domains other than cryptocurrency or the nascent non-fungible tokens (NFTs), blockchain technology does not seem to be widely adopted or is still in its early stages. Given this, we are interested in how managers and the general public are informed about new technology other than through academic papers or the specialized press. In this paper, we analyze how blockchain has been presented by speakers invited to give TED and TEDx Talks to identify the most common terms used to present blockchain in these talks using a multi-methods approach (qualitative analysis and big data analysis) and see if the discourse surrounding blockchain has shifted over time. The results of this study show how the different perspectives brought by broadcasters like TED often overshadow a technological innovation like the blockchain in its evolution and application by the fact that the focus is instead shifted to products and services built on it. Also, this study shows how different degrees of attention and expertise are associated with each fashion wave of new or emergent technology innovations.

This article explores how to help people who organize crowdsourcing events (called “seekers”) choose the best ideas from those submitted by participants (called “solvers'). To this end, we created a method using techniques like topic modeling and text analysis to sort and group ideas. Then, we tested this method on data from crowdsourcing contests in Italy in 2021. In particular, considering the literature on intermediaries, we focus on intermediation in crowdsourcing to improve the decision-making processes in those initiatives where searching activities are intermediated by digital platforms, besides other human intermediaries. This method makes it easier for seekers to handle multiple ideas, and it also helps them find better-quality ideas. Moreover, from a theoretical point of view, our method could lead to better results in crowdsourcing challenges because it groups ideas based on their content without being influenced by the organizers' pre-existing knowledge or biases. This means that seekers might discover new and unexpected topics or solutions they hadn't thought of before. From a practical standpoint, for managers organizing crowdsourcing events, this method is valuable because it not only saves time and effort but also potentially uncovers innovative and diverse ideas. Additionally, the method includes a feature that shows how much participants interact and share knowledge, thus implementing the concept of “transactivity”, which, to the best of our knowledge, hasn't been used in crowdsourcing studies before. This can help crowdsourcing organizers better understand which contests are more effective at encouraging collaboration and knowledge sharing among participants.

Today's market is moving towards becoming more and more globalized, leading to constant changes which are more dynamic and more unpredictable than before. Organizations are pressured to adapt meaning that many will invest in business intelligence. We can identify a problem in that the majority of organizations are not getting the desired effect of their investment in business intelligence. Research have shown that user engagement is considered to be one of the most important factors for a successful business intelligence system. In this qualitative paper we have tried to investigate what creates user engagement and how user engagement looks when using BI systems. In response to the research questions, we conducted a case study on one of Sweden's largest banks, where we interviewed four employees. All employees use the organizational BI system daily, making them suitable candidates for our study. While we could see many similarities, we but also identified some differences between previous literature and our collected data. From this we identified a number of factors and factors for the creation of user engagement. In the conclusion, we discuss what creates user commitment to using BI systems, as well as what similarities and differences we found between literature and our own collected data. We explain our knowledge contribution, which is a set factors we consider affect the creation of user engagement to use the BI system, which we have developed based on our empirical and previous literature in the field.

Although healthcare information systems improve healthcare and efficiency they are often complex and provide a limited service. For these and other similar reasons, users often take it upon themselves to create their own solutions. These user created solutions are called feral information systems. It is not always that these feral information systems meet the standard requirements of healthcare information systems and as a result of this they have the potential to create risk that might put the patient, management and the organization at risk.

This is an undergraduate thesis that aims to research the risks that can rise when feral information systems fail to meet the standard requirements of healthcare information systems. The report is an interpretive case study that focuses on three different feral information system within a regional healthcare organization. Ten standard requirements of healthcare information systems are described and written from three distinctive divisions – Technique oriented, information oriented and user oriented requirements.

Information is gathered using a semi-structured interview with the developer of the three systems, a user of one of the systems and two managers from the maintenance department of the organization. The data gathered about the feral information system is then interpreted and analyzed using the ten requirements of IT system in healthcare from the perspective of the three different divisions.

As a result of the research we have come to the conclusion that the failure to meet the user and information and technical oriented requirements have the potential to create certain risk in some aspects but not all. Feral information systems in health care services can pose a risk to patient safety and that there are probably several of these systems that violate the patient data act or personal data law. Failure to handle data integrity and follow the patient data law in feral information systems often results in lacking user traceability. In addition, there is an extra cost to maintain systems that are usually not analyzed by the operations. We see that feral information systems often uses self- defined healthcare terminology which obstructs the ability to integrate with other systems. The lack of documentation obstructs the use of the system without a special training. These trainings take time, resources and are often not free. Making the organization more and more dependent on the experienced users. Furthermore, the lack of documentation also obstructs the possibility of further developing the system. 

However, the potential of feral information system to cause risk is often neglected and underestimated. This is because feral information systems often fulfill only a small and particular need within a certain division of the organization.

I den här magisteruppsatsen undersöker jag hur ett svenskt IT-konsultföretag använder sitt interna IT-system för att marknadsföra och sälja de IT-baserade konsulttjänster som företaget erbjuder, det vill säga konsultbemanning till olika IT-projekt såsom implementering eller uppgradering av affärssystem. Med marknadsföring menar jag exempelvis proaktiva aktiviteter för att stärka varumärket och med försäljning menar jag till exempel merförsäljning på redan befintliga kunder.Bakgrunden till uppsatsens ämne kommer ifrån identifierade utmaningar med detta från de personer inom företaget som arbetar med marknadsföring och försäljning, exempelvis utmaningen i att följa den allt snabbare utvecklingstakten av IT-system (till exempel nya versioner som släpps) för att vara konkurrenskraftig på den svenska konsultmarknaden.Uppsatsens syfte är dels att undersöka användandet interna IT-system hos ett svenskt IT-konsultföretag för att förbättra det genom konfigurering eller utveckling. Den syftar även till att se över och eventuellt förbättra de verksamhetsprocesser som finns på företaget, det vill säga hur de arbetar med försäljning och marknadsföring, för att bli bättre på att nå rätt kunder inom branschen. Genom detta ämnar även uppsatsen också ge vägledande/rådgivande kunskap till andra svenska IT-konsultföretag till hur de kan åstadkomma detta genom analys av undersökningen som beskrivs ovan.För insamling av empirisk data används en kvalitativ metod med semistrukturerade intervjuer av verksamhetspersoner på ett svenskt IT-konsultföretag. Insamlat material ställs i uppsatsen mot befintliga teorier inom marknadsföring, e-marknadsföring, Sociomaterialitet samt internprojekt, eftersom jag anser att dessa teorier är viktiga komponenter för att uppnå uppsatsens syfte.Resultatet innehåller en rad utmaningar och framgångsfaktorer på hur ett internt IT-system för hantering av marknadsförings- och säljfunktioner i ett svenskt IT-konsultföretag kan anpassas. Utmaningar som identifierats är dels brist på tid, pengar och resurser, intern kommunikation samt ökad konkurrens inom branschen men också ett ökat inflöde av e-mail vilket gör att kampanjutskick via e-email riskerar att försvinna i mängden.De framgångsfaktorer som bör eftersträvas är dels att hålla en långsiktig och god relation till kunden, använda uppföljning och rapportering av kampanjer/säljmöten. Detta tillsammans med att använda en lösningsorienterad försäljning med professionalism och kvalité som ledord i de levererade tjänsterna är viktigt för att nå ut till kunder på marknaden för IT-konsulttjänster i Sverige. Förutom detta har marknadsföringsstrategier såsom Cross-selling och Word-of- mouth identifierats som mest lyckosamma inom branschen, varpå dessa bör eftersträvas.För att upprätthålla bra funktionalitet och rätt strategier för marknadsföring och försäljning av IT-konsulttjänster bör man förvalta även interna funktioner som om de vore IT-system. Kort och gott; Man måste underhålla IT för att sälja IT.

Iden till denna rapport väcktes i samband med att TeliaSonera använt tsm³ i arbetet med att SOX-säkra verksamheten. tsm³ ar en förvaltningsmodell inom TeliaSoneras som används for styrning av systemförvaltningsverksamhet och baseras på referensmodellen pm³ (Nordström och Welander, 2006). Underlag for rapporten presenterades även på Dataföreningskonferensen "Diskutera systemförvaltning" i mars 2007. Denna rapport grundar sig på presentationen, men är utvecklad till att omfatta grundmodellen pm³. I samband med konferensen uttryckte andra organisationer, i samma situation som TeliaSonera, intresse for denna frågeställning.

Syftet med rapporten är att beskriva på vilket sätt förvaltningsmodellen pm³ kan användas for att upprätthålla etablerade kontroller i en organisation som lyder under SOX. Rapporten innehåller även ett praktikfall som beskriver hur pm³ använts for att etablera SOX-kontroller inom TeliaSonera.

Traditional vehicle manufacturers are no longer sole players on the market — IT companies like Apple and Alphabet have increased their R&D-funding and are working on their own commercialized self driving technologies. Due to more involved IT companies and an increase of IT in the vehicles, our onset is to view the autonomous vehicle as an IT product, which could result in different forms of risks and challenges.

Autonomous vehicle testing is taking place around the world. In Sweden, a new legislation introduced in 2017 has made it possible to test autonomous vehicles on public roads. As a result, a number of projects involving autonomous vehicles have been initiated around the country. In Linköping, for example, there's a planned project that focuses on testing four autonomous buses of a model called Olli in a specific district. To examine risks and challenges related to autonomous vehicles we decided to do a case study of Olli.

The result shows a number of risks and challenges, some of them are unique to the project but still applicable on other types of autonomous vehicles. The challenges involves both technical and non-technical aspects, and judging from these we have noticed that the balance between both parts are important to have in mind during the design process of the vehicles.

Informationsteknik har blivit en betydande del av samhället, vilket bland annat tar sig i uttryck politiskt via bland annat statsförvaltningen. För att underlätta medborgarnas vardag satsar regeringen på att utveckla den så kallade e-förvaltningen och i denna ingår utvecklingen av offentliga elektroniska tjänster. Målet med e-förvaltningen är att både kunna bidra till att effektivisera offentlig verksamhet, men också förenkla medborgares kontakt med den offentliga sektorn. Det finns exempel som visar hur bristen på hänsyn till medborgares behov och önskemål leder till tjänster som inte utnyttjas, något som visar att det är viktigt att offentliga organisationer tillskansar sig kunskap om användare och deras önskemål.

Användarmedverkan ses av forskare som ett användbart verktyg i syfte att skapa relevanta och tillgängliga e-tjänster, men i praktiken förefaller användares behov vara något som bortprioriteras vid e-tjänsteutvecklingen inom offentlig sektor. Syftet med denna uppsats var att närmre undersöka tre offentliga organisationer för att få större kunskap om deras inställning till användarmedverkan, deras praktiska tillvägagångssätt vid tillämpandet av användarmedverkan och bidraget det medför på utvecklingen av offentliga e-tjänster, samt undersöka möjligheter för förbättring av denna tillämpning. Detta gjordes genom att vi utförde en kvalitativ studie hos Skatteverket, Centrala studiestödsnämnden och Norrköpings kommun.

Resultatet visade att inställningen till användarmedverkan var positiv och att de tre organisationerna hade uppfattningen att det kunde leda till bättre e-tjänster. Däremot skiljde sig syftet med e-tjänsteutvecklingen sig åt och det sträckte sig mellan en syn på e-tjänsteutveckling med fokus på nytta för medborgare, och e-tjänsteutveckling med fokus på verksamhetsnytta. Även arbetssätten tenderade att skilja sig åt och den organisation som hade starkast medborgarperspektiv arbetade även mest konsekvent och mest etablerat med användarmedverkan, medan organisationen som hade starkast verksamhetsperspektiv inte alls involverade slutanvändare under utvecklingen.

Vi kunde dra slutsatsen att användarmedverkan hade positiva effekter på utvecklingsprojektens resultat eftersom det fångade problem tidigt i utvecklingen och e-tjänsterna blev bättre anpassade för medborgarnas behov. Av intervjuerna framgick de att organisationerna i vissa fall saknade kunskap om användarmedverkan och skulle behöva tydligare styrning, och att det är viktigt att arbeta för att inkludera en bredare användargrupp istället för att tvinga personer med låg datorvana att välja andra kanaler. Kunskapen om användarmedverkan skulle öka genom att skapa större samverkan inom offentlig sektor för att kunna dela med sig och dra nytta av andra verksamheters metoder och erfarenheter vid tillämpning av användarmedverkan. Vi anser att en plattform för en sådan samverkan skulle kunna bidra mycket till de organisationer som aktivt vill arbeta med initiativ till förbättrad e-tjänsteutveckling.

E-service development has grown to become a daily practice in most public organizations as a means for realizing digital agendas and e-government initiatives on different levels (local, regional, national and transnational governmental levels). Public e-service development is often an inter-organizational (IO) effort with multiple actors and organizations involved in the multi-faceted dimensions of design, development and delivery decisions. Still, there is a lack of research focusing on IO public e-service development practices in particular. In order to address this lack we elaborate on reported challenges and their implications for IO public e-service development in practice. By returning to two empirical cases of IO public e-service development, the IO dimension is evolved. Our purpose is to highlight challenges in IO public e-service development with implications for research and practice. Findings are presented as eight emerging lessons learned from an inside-out perspective related to phases in IO public e-service development processes.

This study has found four main challenges that individuals in a security sensitive organization face when having to follow the regulatory criteria of implementing logical separation within their information systems to protect confidential and limited secret information. First, due to the Swedish regulatory perspective on this type of criteria, it is essential that the criteria are followed. This has contributed to high pressure on these individuals to take necessary means to fulfil the criteria, however not without challenges. The main ideas the individuals have about implementing the criteria are the following: their interpretation of the criteria impacts what follows next, organizational factors that determine how the criteria is handled in IT-activity. The varying measures for logical separation and lastly the differing ideas of logical separation compliance.  

Due to the increasing use of information technology in organizations, Swedish regulatory demands are put on the individual’s handling information in information systems that could have devastating consequences on Swedish vital functions in society. One of the demands is logical separation. The purpose of the criteria is protecting information in information systems. This criterion is to be followed within organizations using IT. By using methods in qualitative research, the epistemological approach inductive reasoning was used. To find ideas aiming to answer the research questions in how the criterion of logical separation is handled, what measures and how compliance is followed thematic analysis provided a suitable approach. The main findings mentioned in the former paragraph was able to illustrate these ideas. The results have a significant implication in research, students and for other stakeholders interested in this matter The research findings give insight and further implication into how the criteria is followed in different organizations and bring a nuanced perspective in how the matter is thought to be complied for.

Inside an open data ecosystem, between municipality and business, there exists an unexplored data market based on open data sets. As actors works towards a functioning ecosystem, resistance is expressed. In this study, we explore and expand the insight of an open data ecosystem and bring forth actors’ resistance expression. This paper is the result of a case study about three municipalities, five business and their relation towards the data market in aSwedish context. From interviews, observations, documents, and thorough analysis we found that municipalities have limited knowledge, resources and political leadership, while businesses are affected by the lacking technical infrastructure on many levels, where open data products never become reality and are in a constant fear. The lacking collaboration infrastructure makes it impossible for municipalities to hear the prayers chanted by businesses. And nowhere to be found is the political leadership needed to move this chaos into order. From this, a deadlock is condensed where no one can act.

Introduction: This doctoral thesis in Information Systems disentangles the interplay of an OGD reform and an OGD ecosystem. Open government data (OGD) refers to data shared by public organizations, in the role of providers, following certain principles for anyone to reuse. An OGD reform transforms parts of society so that an OGD ecosystem can coalesce and realize benefits (e.g., economic growth or transparency). An OGD ecosystem consists of providers sharing data, enrichers developing products or services on this data, and seekers using the data, products, or services to satisfy their needs.

Problem and Purpose: Previous OGD research tends to encompass an OGD reform into an OGD ecosystem, which can restrict the possibilities to understand the evolution and health of an OGD ecosystem. Because, an OGD reform is a temporary transformation, while an OGD ecosystem includes sustained processes for a purpose. It obfuscates the possible interplay between an OGD reform and an OGD ecosystem, which could affect the health of the ecosystem. Health is an OGD ecosystem’s ability to achieve its higher purpose while benefiting its actors without harming others. Reform and evolution are related since both refer to the change of actors. The purpose of my doctoral thesis is to disentangle the interplay between an OGD reform and an OGD ecosystem to understand how it can affect the health of an OGD ecosystem.

Research Design: I set out to explore the Swedish OGD ecosystem from 2016 to 2019. The research expanded to international explorations between 2019 and 2021. My research is qualitative and encompasses an introductory part and five articles. The papers include (1) a comparison between two providers, (2) an enricher framework, (3) diagnosis of the Swedish OGD ecosystem, (4) lessons drawn from public utilities, and (5) how providers and enrichers can consider seekers in their work. I then revisited my empirical material to perform additional analysis to synthesize a conceptual framework called reform-ecosystem (RE-ECO) framework.

Findings: The RE-ECO framework depicts the interplay between an OGD reform and an OGD ecosystem and how it could affect the ecosystem's health. An OGD reform is conceptualized as a checkerboard and an OGD ecosystem as an ocean ecosystem. OGD actors transform a reciprocal structure to coalesce an OGD ecosystem through persuasion, collaboration, transformation, and evaluation. The OGD ecosystem consists of strands of data-information cycles and identification nodes, which work to realize certain benefits. The OGD actors can transform local conditions, step between ecosystems, and mutation-load to affect the health of an OGD ecosystem.

Contribution: The theoretical contribution of this doctoral thesis is the RE-ECO framework. The thesis also concludes that an OGD ecosystem is an ancillary, symbiotic ecosystem; mutation-loading can control and fuel the change of actors; OGD actors can step between their OGD reform, their OGD ecosystem, and other ecosystems; the landscape metaphor reveals how an OGD reform can constrain the health of an OGD ecosystem; and actors can experience tensions between an OGD reform and an OGD ecosystem. OGD researchers are suggested to further study the interplay between an OGD reform and an OGD ecosystem. OGD practitioners should follow ``high-value, high-impact'' and ``publish with purpose'' principles rather than ``open by default'' or ``raw data now'' principles.

Introduction: This compilation licentiate thesis focuses on open government data (OGD). The thesis is based on three papers. OGD is a system that is organized when publishers collect and share data with users, who can unrestrictedly reuse the data. In my research, I have explored why it can be challenging to cultivate OGD. Cultivation is human activities that change, encourage, or guide human organizations towards a higher purpose by changing, introducing, managing, or removing conditions. Here, the higher purpose is OGD to realize believed benefits. Thus, OGD cultivation is an attempt to stimulate actors into organizing as OGD.

Problem and Purpose: OGD is believed to lead to several benefits. However, the worldwide OGD movement has slowed down, and researchers have noted a lack of use. Publishers and users are experiencing a set of different impediments that are challenging to solve. In previous research, there is a need for more knowledge about what can impede the OGD organization, cause non-valuable organizing, or even collapse the organization. At the same time, there is a lack of knowledge about how impediments shape the organization of OGD. This gap can make it hard to solve and overcome the impediments experienced by publishers and users. The sought-after knowledge can bring some understanding of the current situation of OGD. In this research, I have viewed the organization of OGD as an ecosystem. The purpose of this thesis is to draw lessons about why it can be challenging to cultivate OGD ecosystems by understanding OGD impediments from an ecosystem perspective.

Research Design: I set out to explore OGD through qualitative research from 2016 to 2018. My research started with a pilot case study that led to three studies. The studies are each reported in a paper and the papers form the base of this thesis. The first paper aims to stimulate the conceptually oriented discussion about actors’ roles in OGD by developing a framework that was tested on a Swedish public agency. The second paper has the purpose of expanding the scope surrounding impediments and was based in a review and systematization of previous research about OGD impediments. The third paper presents an exploration of impediments experienced by publishers, users, and cultivators in the Swedish national OGD ecosystem to identify faults. From the three papers, lessons were drawn in turn and together, that are presented in this thesis.

Findings: Cultivators when cultivating OGD ecosystems are facing towering challenges. The following three main challenges are identified in this thesis: (1) to cultivate a system that can manage stability by itself without constant involvement, (2) to cultivate a system that is capable of evolving towards a “greater good” by itself, and (3) to have an up-to-date precise vocabulary for a self-evolving system that enables inter-subjective understand for coordinating problem-solving.

Contribution: The theoretical contribution of this thesis is that OGD ecosystems can be viewed as a public utility. Moreover, I recommend that researchers approach the organizing of OGD as the cultivation of evolution, rather than the construction of a structure; to consider the stability of the system in growth, value, and participation; and to be cautious with how they label and describe OGD actors. For actors that are cultivating OGD, I recommend that they guide the OGD actors to help them organize; view OGD cultivation as the management of evolution (growth) towards a purpose; and view cultivation as a collaborative effort where they can supply ideas, technologies, practices, and expertise.

Information seekers can use products and services based onopen government data (OGD) to satisfy their information needs. Thesesolutions are provided by data transformers reusing OGD shared by publishers.OGD is believed to lead to several benets, such as transparencyand innovation. However, there is a noted lack of OGD use, and littleseems to be known about the need for OGD. Therefore, we developed atentative conceptual model, from which data transformers and publisherscan understand and consider the information needs of informationseekers. We used design science research to develop the model basedon previous research and empirical material from workshops. We conductedworkshops in Belgium with nine researchers and eleven studentsand presented the model at a Scandinavian e-government workshop. Thendings from the study show that information needs are complex andcan be challenging to capture, but are one possible way to understandhow the benets of OGD could be realized. One practical implication isthat publishers and data transformers should identify information needsin society, study existing solutions, and attempt to go beyond them withOGD. The synthesized theoretical implication is that information needsmight help to guide on the role of OGD in society.

Purpose - This research aims to develop a user process framework with activities and their variations for the use of open government data (OGD) based on empirical material and previous research. Open government data (OGD) is interoperable data that is shared by public organisations (publishers) for anyone (users) to reuse without restrictions to create new digital products and services. The user process was roughly identified in previous research but lacks an in-depth description. This lack can hamper the ability to encourage the use and the development of related theories.

Design/methodology/approach - A three-stage research approach was used. Firstly, a tentative framework was created from previous research and empirical material. This stage involved three different literature reviews, data mapping, and seven interviews with OGD experts. The empirical material was analysed with inductive analysis, and previous research was integrated into the framework through concept mapping. Secondly, the tentative framework was reviewed by informed OGD experts. Thirdly, the framework was finalised with additional literature reviews, eight interviews with OGD users, and a member check, including all the respondents. The framework was used to guide the data collection and as a tool in the analysis.

Findings -The user process framework covers activities and related variations, where the included phases are: start, identify, acquire, enrich, and deploy. The start varies relating to the intended use of the OGD. In the identify phase, the user is exploring the accessible data to decide if the data is relevant. In the acquire phase, the user is preparing for the delivery of the data from the publisher and receiving it. In the enrich phase, the user is concocting and making something. In the final deploy phase, the user has a product or service that can be provided to end-users.

Research limitations/implications - The framework development has some limitations: the framework needs testing and development in different contexts and further verification. The implications are that the framework can help guide researchers towards relevantand essential data of the user process, be used as a point of compari-son in analysis, and be used as a skeleton for more precious theories.

Practical implications - The framework has some practical implications for users, publishers, and portals. It can introduce users to the user process and help them plan for the execution of it. The framework can help publishers understand how the users can work with their data and what can be expected of them. The framework can help portal owners to understand the portal's role between users and publishers and what functionality and features they can provide to support to the user.

Originality/value - In previous research, no user process with an in-depth description was identified. However, several studies have given a rough recall. Thus, this research provides an in-depth description of the user process with its variations. The framework can support practice and leads to new research avenues.