Olof Nilsson

Open innovation and public administration: transformational typologies and business model impacts

Extant research demonstrates that e-Government initiatives often fall short of achieving innovative forms of government and governance due to a techno-centric focus that limits such initiatives to minor improvements in service delivery. While it is evident that innovation is central to modernising and transforming governmental organisations, and that the co-creation of services by public authorities and community groups is an essential component of realising the benefits of investment in information and communication technology, there is little research focusing on the nature of innovation in transforming governmental organisations and services. Addressing this gap in the literature, this paper explores how open innovation strategies can transform public administration by examining how a network of municipalities in Sweden transforms value creation and service delivery by collaborating with each other and with external parties to accelerate the creation and exploitation of innovation. Using a case study with embedded units of analysis, four emerging typologies of governmental transformation based on open innovation are identified. The paper illustrates how these open innovation typologies (i) transform the organisation of the municipalities and (ii) help them deliver high quality co-created services to citizens. By examining the strategic and operational aspects that facilitate such activities, the analysis reveals the impact of open innovation on the business models of public authorities. The paper concludes that open innovation practices represent a more radical manifestation of transformational government than previously envisaged; signalling not only fundamental change in the nature of value creation and service delivery by public authorities, but potentially in the nature of their organisation.

Position Statement: Sustainable Information and Information Systems (SIIS)

In this position statement we provide our understanding of the relation between the IS field and the notion of sustainability, and present our focus through a characterization of the “sustainability research” construct. By doing so, we hope to contribute to the discourse on a clarification of the construct itself in our research community.

The Servicitization of Peer Production: Reflections on the Open Source Software Experience

The concept of what Yochai Benkler called “peer production” as an alternative mechanism to traditional hierarchies and markets has captured the imagination of numerous communities in contexts ranging from t-shirt design to software to gold mining. While some question the suitability and potential longevity of this mode of production, others are focused on determining ways in which peer-produced products and services can be suitably packaged to meet the requirements of consumers. In particular, the mature peer production phenomenon known as open source software has emerged as a credible alternative to its proprietary counterpart and presents a compelling challenge to both industry and academia as we seek to understand how firms and other organizations can build sustainable business models leveraging the public commons of open source products and the collaborative engine that created them.

A User Centred Access Model

This paper presents a model to assist in the ability to judge access by private persons to the Internet in general, and to Public Information Systems (PIS) particularly. It has its starting point in the Swedish Government’s endeavour to turn Sweden into the first ‘information society for all’. When the available statistics concerning the access to a PC and the Internet in Swedish homes are studied it is easy to think that this vision may soon be realised. Of course, access to the technical equipment is a fundamental condition in order to be able to use the Public Information Systems, but unfortunately, is not the only one. Several studies have shown that it is not possible to equate possession and use. A number of access models or frameworks designed to judge whether or not a person has access to the ICTs do exist. However, it is my opinion that there is a deficiency in these models; they do not start out from the individual user’s prerequisites, but rather judge the external conditions available for possible access. Assisted by four empirical studies, interviews and questionnaires, a number of access barriers experienced by the users have been identified. The studies show that in addition to the technological hindrances, a series of more elusive ones also exist originating from prevailing norms and values in the environment the user lives in. The barriers are categorised into five groups: to have, to be able, to will, to may and to dare. Together these notions form the User Centred Access Model, UCAM, which is suggested for use in charting and communicating the necessary considerations that must be taken into account in the development of Public Information Systems aimed for e-governmental issues.