Digital Transformation Drift: A Population Study of Swedish Municipalities

Digital transformation is argued to entail fundamental change in existing operations and strategy alike. In the public sector, there have been ample evidence of both the profound effect of digital transformation and its substantial caveats. As organizations embark on digital transformation, they formulate and execute what is referred to as digital transformation strategies. In this study, we approach the digital transformation strategies of municipalities as the resource allocation and goal setting associated with digital transformation. Through a population level content analysis, we analyze the top steering documents of all 290 Swedish municipalities over two years (2021-2022). The findings display a shift to more and more emphasis on external (as opposed to internal) direct aspired value and innovation (as opposed to efficiency) activities in the sector. We interpret this through three extant theories of drift, with the goal of exploring how theories of drift may inform the future study of digital transformation strategies in the public sector.