Conference Agenda

Despite widespread recognition of the need for shared vision and strategic leadership in digital government transformation (DGT), the concept remains ambiguously defined in both research and practice. This study approaches DGT as a multidimensional conceptual space shaped by the language in municipal strategy documents. We will analyze these documents because they outline official goals, communicate priorities, and translate digital policies into local contexts. Using a pilot corpus of 60 digitalization strategies from German cities, we will apply word embedding models to map how DGT is articulated in local government strategies. This approach aims to clarify how the broader agenda of digital transformation is interpreted across public sector organizations and how strategy documents influence discourse and prioritization around digitalization. By empirically analyzing these texts, we aim to enhance the understanding of the diverse structure of DGT's conceptualization.

Digital transformations in public administration are increasingly reshaping organisational structures and work processes. While digital technologies are often seen as catalysts for increasing efficiency and reducing bureaucratic complexity, empirical studies show that these transformations can also create new challenges (Mergel et al., 2019; Kuhlmann & Bogumil, 2021). Organisational theory sees paradoxes as inherent to such transformations (Kokshagina & Schneider, 2022), with digitalisation creating tensions at both the organisational and individual levels. These individual-level paradoxes refer to recurring tensions in specific contexts (Mazmanian et al., 2013). They arise when workplace technologies require behavioural adjustments to balance autonomy with constant availability, cope with information overload, and navigate reduced face-to-face interaction. These paradoxes show how digital transformation offers benefits such as flexibility and efficiency but also creates challenges such as excessive data and communication barriers (Kokshagina & Schneider, 2022).

Similar patterns emerge in social and service administration, where digitisation goes beyond automation and standardisation to demand new skills and create additional workloads. Previously less visible tasks such as system implementation, training, and process adaption add to this complexity (Dreas & Klenk, 2021; Ruiz Ben, 2021; Gräfe et al., 2024; Justesen & Plesner, 2024).

While existing research in public administration has predominantly addressed the external dimensions of digitalisation, such as its impact on public service delivery and interactions with citizens (e.g., Zanker, 2019; Schwab et al., 2019), and the bulk of research on paradoxes has focused on private organisations, the internal dynamics - in particular the impact of digitalisation on internal work processes and structures within central public administrations - remain largely underexplored (Klenk & Veit, 2025). Central public administrations, which play a key role in political governance, legislation, and policy implementation, are often described as status quo-oriented and resistant to reform (e.g., Veit, 2018, on federal administration). These resistance tendencies raise the question of how digitalisation affects such environments and whether the paradoxes of digitalisation, as discussed for private organisations, also play a role here.

This study examines the perceptions of senior civil service executives using data from the Political Administrative Elite (PAE) Survey 2025. It explores the impact of digitalisation on workload, efficiency and administrative complexity, considering demographic factors and hierarchical positions. A key focus is the paradox of inclusion and exclusion in relation to demographic characteristics and health status.

It is hypothesised that executives who perceive themselves as vulnerable - such as those with caregiving responsibilities or chronic health conditions - will experience digitalisation as a relief, particularly through the ability to work remotely. This flexibility could be seen as an inclusive opportunity to break down barriers for those with physical or family constraints. Conversely, executives with lower digital literacy or fewer digital resources may experience digitalisation as a burden, intensifying exclusionary dynamics.

Using multiple regression analysis, the study examines the relationship between digital literacy, perceived digitalisation and individual vulnerability. The findings aim to clarify whether digital technologies enhance efficiency or create new complexities, and whether they mitigate or reinforce structural inequalities in public administration.

Digital government is emerging as a crucial catalyst for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Yet, countries and cities in the Global South face both structural and conceptual barriers in adopting digital tools effectively. While factors such as infrastructure and institutional capacity are frequently examined, an additional challenge may lie in normative frameworks that underpin both the SDGs and e-government models. These frameworks may not fully account for recognizing the diverse local realities, knowledge systems, and social contexts that are crucial for meaningful implementation.

This study conducts a structured literature review to examine the extent to which digital government research incorporates local perspectives when addressing the SDGs. The analysis is grounded in the field of Epistemologies of the South—a diverse body of thought that includes decolonial, post-development, and critical pedagogical approaches, such as those of Paulo Freire. These frameworks move away from a singular development trajectory and emphasize the importance of embracing multiple ways of knowing and being, which may offer valuable insights for reimagining how technologies are conceived and applied in governmental contexts.

Drawing on this theoretical foundation, we conducted a three-stage selection process of over 20,000 articles in the Digital Government Reference Library (DGRL), ultimately identifying 29 studies that substantively engage with the SDGs. Our initial findings reveal a notable asymmetry: while 70% of articles from the Global South explicitly engage with local contexts, only 22% of articles from the Global North do the same. Moreover, across both regions, references to Southern epistemologies remain largely absent, even in studies that acknowledge local perspectives.

The study is relevant because, without a critical examination of how local contexts and diverse knowledge systems are reflected in digital government strategies, there is a risk that some initiatives may not fully align with the lived realities of the communities they aim to support. This may limit their effectiveness or lead to missed opportunities for a meaningful engagement, particularly in settings characterized by complex social and historical dynamics. Additionally, global indicators and e-government benchmarks that are not sufficiently attuned to contextual diversity may offer only a partial view of progress, thereby affecting the design and evaluation of public policies. As digital transformation becomes increasingly central to sustainable development agendas worldwide, ensuring that these processes are informed by plural perspectives and grounded in local relevance is essential.

This paper is primarily theoretical, and it forms part of a broader research agenda that examines the Local Online Service Index (LOSI), aiming to propose new evaluative markers that better reflect Global South realities. Our theoretical contribution seeks to integrate critical theory with policy practice by examining narratives in e-Government. We emphasize the importance of considering "local context" not just as a secondary variable, but as a vital perspective in shaping effective policies. By re-centering local knowledge systems, the study aligns with current debates in public administration and digital governance on how to decolonize policy tools and performance indicators, while expanding the transformative potential of digital technologies for sustainability.