The dynamic balancing act Enacting ambidextrous IT Governance within the public sector

Abstract

The fourth industrial revolution standing at societies’ doorstep brings new technologies creates both threats and opportunities alike. Having a governance model able to cope with these changes are now as, if not more, important than ever. However, not everyone is ready, or able to seize these opportunities. The public sector in particular is known to lag in technology adoption and is often seen as change averse. With increased demands from the government and citizens alike on accelerated digitalization a significant challenge lies ahead for the public sector to keep up with the rapid pace of digitalization. Ambidexterity, a way to be more innovative while simultaneously being efficient at the same time, is thus more important than ever. This study investigates the enactment of an ambidextrous IT Governance through a qualitative case-study of the initial phase of an implementation of a digital agenda in a large Swedish municipality. The methodology used was triangulation of a content analysis of internal steering documents, and 19 semi-structured interviews with stakeholders from the municipal office. Our findings reveal that the IT Governance is moving from being predominantly exploitative to more explorative, with focus on a centralized digitalization hub and a change to a more innovative culture. Three paradoxes are identified in the governance set out by politicians and top management in the municipality. The result is used to further the work done by Zimmerman et al. (2018) by arguing for a broader view of the enactment of ambidexterity by including the middle-management’s role in the enactment, rather than it being mainly the top-management or frontline-managers.