Self-sovereign identity in the public sector: Affordances, experimentation, and actualization

The emerging concept of Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI) promises more portable, secure, and convenient identity services. The public sector, in particular, invests heavily to innovate with this emerging concept. However, an in-depth understanding of SSI's value and how offerings are utilized is lacking, causing complexities and insecurities in designing and implementing SSI-based applications in the public sector. Thus, we conducted a case study which aimed at utilizing SSI for tax registration purposes on online marketplaces. We chose affordance-experimentation-actualization (A-E-A) theory to explore SSI implementation and utilization. As a result, we identify four organizational-level SSI affordances and offer insights into how public sector organizations can innovate with and benefit from SSI by developing an affordance-based innovation framework. Lastly, we contribute to A-E-A theory by revealing how the experimentation phase shapes the organizational context by increasing technical, cultural, and political fit.