Deconstructing complexity: A comparative study of government collaboration in national digital platforms and smart city networks in Europe

IF 2.9 4区管理学 Q1 PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

Public Policy and Administration Pub Date : 2023-04-28 DOI:10.1177/09520767231169401

Jessica Breaugh, Maike Rackwitz, G. Hammerschmid, S. Nõmmik, B. Bellò, Jan Boon, Dries Van Doninck, James Downe, Tiina Randma-Liiv

{"title":"Deconstructing complexity: A comparative study of government collaboration in national digital platforms and smart city networks in Europe","authors":"Jessica Breaugh, Maike Rackwitz, G. Hammerschmid, S. Nõmmik, B. Bellò, Jan Boon, Dries Van Doninck, James Downe, Tiina Randma-Liiv","doi":"10.1177/09520767231169401","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"This research deconstructs complexity as a key challenge of intergovernmental digitalisation projects. While much of the literature acknowledges that the fundamental restructuring coupled with technical capacity that these joint projects require leads to increased complexity, little is known about how different types of complexity interact within the collaborative process. Using established concepts of substantive, strategic, and institutional complexity, we apply complexity theory in collaborative digital environments. To do so, eight digital projects are analysed that differ by state structure and government level. Using a cross-case design with 50 semi-structured expert interviews, we find that each digitalisation project exhibits all types of complexity and that these complexities overlap. However, clear differences emerge between national and local level projects, suggesting that complexity in digitalisation processes presents different challenges for collaborative digitalisation projects across contexts.","PeriodicalId":47076,"journal":{"name":"Public Policy and Administration","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.9000,"publicationDate":"2023-04-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Public Policy and Administration","FirstCategoryId":"91","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09520767231169401","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

This research deconstructs complexity as a key challenge of intergovernmental digitalisation projects. While much of the literature acknowledges that the fundamental restructuring coupled with technical capacity that these joint projects require leads to increased complexity, little is known about how different types of complexity interact within the collaborative process. Using established concepts of substantive, strategic, and institutional complexity, we apply complexity theory in collaborative digital environments. To do so, eight digital projects are analysed that differ by state structure and government level. Using a cross-case design with 50 semi-structured expert interviews, we find that each digitalisation project exhibits all types of complexity and that these complexities overlap. However, clear differences emerge between national and local level projects, suggesting that complexity in digitalisation processes presents different challenges for collaborative digitalisation projects across contexts.

查看原文本刊更多论文

解构复杂性:欧洲国家数字平台和智慧城市网络中政府合作的比较研究

这项研究将复杂性解构为政府间数字化项目的一个关键挑战。尽管许多文献都承认，这些联合项目所需的根本性重组加上技术能力会导致复杂性增加，但人们对不同类型的复杂性在协作过程中如何相互作用知之甚少。利用实体复杂性、战略复杂性和制度复杂性的既定概念，我们将复杂性理论应用于协作数字环境中。为此，分析了八个因国家结构和政府级别而异的数字项目。使用50个半结构化专家访谈的跨案例设计，我们发现每个数字化项目都表现出所有类型的复杂性，并且这些复杂性是重叠的。然而，国家和地方层面的项目之间出现了明显的差异，这表明数字化过程的复杂性给不同背景下的合作数字化项目带来了不同的挑战。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

Public Policy and Administration PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION-

CiteScore

11.30

自引率

6.50%

发文量

审稿时长

12 weeks

期刊介绍： Public Policy and Administration is the journal of the UK Joint University Council (JUC) Public Administration Committee (PAC). The journal aims to publish original peer-reviewed material within the broad field of public policy and administration. This includes recent developments in research, scholarship and practice within public policy, public administration, government, public management, administrative theory, administrative history, and administrative politics. The journal seeks to foster a pluralistic approach to the study of public policy and administration. International in readership, Public Policy and Administration welcomes submissions for anywhere in the world, from both academic and practitioner communities.