Public Bureaucracy and Digital Transformation

This book assesses how digitalization of public organizations affects their bureaucratic structure and features. Drawing on rich ethnographic data from two highly digitalized government agencies in Denmark, it analyses how digitalization both enhances and distorts fundamental characteristics of Weberian bureaucracy, including division of labour, hierarchy, rules and programmability, and bureaucratic discretion. The book also examines the ways in which digitalization influences demands on employees’ and managers’ expertise and relationships with other organizational actors, and demonstrates the implications of digitalization for the enactment of public bureaucratic values such as legality, transparency, accountability, and responsiveness. In doing so, it provides an analysis of the opportunities and challenges facing public bureaucracies in the digital age. Above all, the book offers a nuanced understanding of how digital transformation reshapes the public bureaucracy, and thereby one of the foundation stones on which our societies stand.

“In Public Bureaucracy and Digital Transformation, Grøn and Møller provide a rich and fascinating depiction of how the digitalization of governmental functions both reinforces and distorts Weberian bureaucracy, by achieving efficiency, accountability, and transparency, while also blurring hierarchical lines, constraining administrative discretion, and altering the nature of public service work. I highly recommend this book for scholars and students who want to better understand bureaucracy in a digital world.” (Leisha DeHart-Davis, Professor, University of North Carolina)

“Public Bureaucracy and Digital Transformation offers a profound exploration of the paradoxes and challenges of digital transformation within public service. By adopting a micro-level perspective and a 'bureaucracy in action' approach, the book offers fresh insights for both scholars and practitioners and provides an invaluable contribution to understanding how public bureaucracies are navigating digital transformations.” (Gabriela Spanghero Lotta, Associate Professor, Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV))

“This book offers a timely and insightful exploration of public bureaucracies in the digital age. Through meticulous ethnographic fieldwork, the authors unravel the complexities of digitalization in everyday practice and its impact on bureaucratic practices and values. A must-read for scholars and practitioners, this work provides invaluable insights into the interplay between technology and bureaucracy, highlighting both the opportunities and the challenges inherent in digital transformation.” (Albert Meijer, Professor, Utrecht University, The Netherlands)

Caroline Howard Grøn is Associate Professor at the King Frederik Center for Public Leadership, Department of Political Science, Aarhus University, Denmark. Her research centers on public leadership, public management, organization theory, and the digital transformation of public organizations.

Anne Mette Møller is Associate Professor at the Department of Organization, Copenhagen Business School, Denmark. Her research focuses on public management and leadership, policy implementation, frontline work, professional knowledge and practice, digitalization, and organizational ethnography.