Ignorance in public sector digital transformation: Empirical evidence and conjecture

Abstract

With digital government becoming increasingly relevant as a new mode of safeguarding relevance and operations of the public sector, previous research has highlighted the need for additional studies on the prerequisites of successful digital transformation. The current literature is laden with examples of said prerequisites, but so far there have been only limited empirical studies on the extent to which the prerequisites are known within public sector organizations. We study the ignorance of necessary prerequisites for digital transformation within public sector organizations through a quantitative survey conducted with 91 local authorities in Sweden in 2022. The study finds distinguishable nescient areas and patterns in the degrees of ignorance, which are then used for initial theorization and to discuss future avenues for research.