Digital Transformation of the Public Sector

Digital transformation has challenged public administrations in terms of their decision-making processes, relationships with citizens and internal management issues, such as workflows, teamwork, leadership, culture and human resources management. Digitalization processes have brought about the introduction of new forms of working that have revolutionized traditional work practices by redefining individual and organizational boundaries, and social bonds with the introduction of greater flexibility and autonomy in the choice of space, time and technological tools. These issues have prompted research on the growing intensive use of agile working, e.g., smart, remote, hybrid work, from different angles including organizational or job design, human-centeredness or ethics of technologies adopted, and their effects on quality of work, employee well-being, organizational models, and economies overall.

This book provides a holistic picture of digital transformation in the public sector paying attention to its effects at the individual level but also considering the interdependency between the individual, organizational and context/societal levels. It collects original theoretical and empirical contributions addressing how digital transformation is shaping organizational practices, new forms of work and workplaces in the public sector. It employs a comprehensive mixed methodology comprising qualitative, quantitative, and emerging digital research methods, to explore the multifaceted and complex nature of this topic at different levels and to render the study trustworthy.

By exploring both positive and negative aspects of digital transformation, the book offers a holistic picture that supports theoretical, practical and policy implications, reinforcing the understanding of how new forms of work may support the effective design of flexible and sustainable organizational models.

Andrea Tomo is Associate Professor of Organization Studies at the University of Naples Federico II, Italy, and Principal Investigator/Scientific Coordinator of the PRIN research project “Towards an agile public sector”. He is a member of the scientific committee of the Executive Master in Public Managerial Practices and the Executive Master in Digital Transformation of the Public Administration at the University of Naples Federico II.

Aizhan Tursunbayeva is Associate Professor at the University of Naples Parthenope, Italy. Aizhan researches AI, and the Future of Work and HRM. She is a Senior Associate Editor for the European Management Journal and an Associate Editor for the International Journal of Human Resource Management.

Mario Pezzillo Iacono is Full Professor of Organization Studies at the Department of Economics, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, where he teaches Business Organization and Human Resource Management. He serves as Chair of the Bachelor’s Degree Programme in Business Administration and Chair of the Master’s Degree Programme in Economics and Management.

Gilda Antonelli is Full Professor of Organizational Design and Human Resources Management at the Department of Economics, University d’Annunzio (Italy). She holds a Ph.D. in Organization, Technology, and Human Resources. Her research lies at the intersection of HRM and Change Management, focusing on e-HRM, ethics in AI HRM practices, and the future of work. She is co-founder of the CNOW Lab - Changing Nature of Work - which focuses on studying the evolving nature of work and organizational models.