Mid Sweden University

Drawing upon the work of Lewis Mumford, this paper discusses the use of digital technology in terms of polytechnics and monotechnics. The research is conducted by performing a study of prior literature on the history of digital technology in Sweden together with an analysis of Swedish government documents on digitalization. The findings reveal how digital technology was developed for military and scientific needs and then implemented in the public sector, supported by a bureaucratic structure in the 1960s. After a period of pessimism and decentralization in the 1970s and 1980s, digital technology was subject to increased expectations through renewed leadership and additional networked capabilities in the 1990s. After a setback following the dot-com crash, the terminology shifted again: through digital agendas in 2010–2011, digitalization became a dominant term for the use of digital technology in government documents. This paper concludes by presenting five contrast pairs (decentralization and centralization, pluralism and convergence, tool and force, democracy and efficiency, and a serving technology versus a technology that demands adaptation), which can be utilized to analyze what views on technology that become dominant in policies, and practice.

The aim of this paper is to study governmental expert advisory groups on digitalization in order to see if there are some common characteristics inside the group and some relevant characteristics left out that would significantly influence the shared understandings’ and translations of digitalization. The underpinnings are that it is important to study digital representational practices at all levels and that this level often escapes scrutiny. Furthermore, we need to stay close to material performances in order to open up a discussion whether, as a consequence, some translations might come to dominate others, if meanings converge and the technological frame is stabilized, or maybe even closed. The chosen analytical framework stretches from a link in between historical contextuality and technological culture (as in how and where myths and symbolic narratives are constructed), the focus on the process of interpretation (as in the flexibility in how digitalization could be translated and attached to different political goals and values) and a dimension of professional identities and communities of practice when addressing historical contextuality (as in using education and professional experiences and position to explore dominance and power aspects). The results show a homogeneity that is problematic and raises questions of the frames for interpreting what digitalization could and should be and do. We argue that the strong placing of digitalization in the knowledge base disclosed in this study hinders digitalization to be more knowledgeably translated. 

A range of policies on different levels of government (including EU, national, regional and local) concerns the use of digital technology. Drawing upon prior research that suggests that many e-Government policies contain myths and visionary images about technology, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the discourse on digitalization through an analysis of a Swedish digitalization policy. The research utilized a theoretical framework which describes four views on technology. The methodology used was interpretative, based on a "What’s the problem represented to be?" (WPR) approach. The findings suggest that the discourse on digitalization in the policy shifts between describing a serving, and a dictating technology. Digitalization is presented as a solution to external problems, based on the condition that we adapt to a future, data-driven society. The policy remains silent about groups and individuals that do not want take part in the digital society, since the proposed solution is that everyone should embrace the technology. The paper concludes with suggestions of alternative perspectives on technology. As such, this paper contributes to the current literature with critical reflections of how technology is represented in a digitalization policy.

Governments across the world are intensifying their use of digital technology. One way to generate an understanding of the effects of technology in the public sector is to study values. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how values in the Swedish national e-Government have developed over time. This research studies Swedish government documents between 1961 and 2018 during three periods of computerization: Automatic Data Processing, Information Technology, and Digitalization. A theoretical framework that consists of four value positions (i.e. professionalism, efficiency, service, and engagement) is utilized. The findings suggest that technological paradigms tend to generate value congruence in policy documents, followed by value divergence in evaluations. Currently, digitalization is perceived as the enabler of several values. While both IT and digitalization are referred to as tools or means, the development towards an information, knowledge, or data-driven society is also described as inevitable. The service ideal became dominant through the use of internet-based technology, while efficiency is often prioritized in large-scale projects. Engagement values are associated with a futuristic form of democracy in government documents, but rarely converted into practice. The role of professionalism is two-fold: it acts both as an enabler and as a constraint to the other values. The paper concludes with suggesting that the current development of adapting laws and regulations to enable digitalization might lead to an eroded bureaucracy, with uncertain value.

Governments across the world spend vast resources on implementing digital technology. Electronic, or digital, government is the use and study of Internet-based information and communication technology in the public sector. A point of departure in this study is that investments in technology are not value-free; they require allocation of limited resources and trade-offs between values. The purpose of this paper was to investigate how values are prioritized in the Swedish digital government. This research was conducted by using quantitative data from a survey administered to Swedish municipalities and national agencies. In addition, qualitative data from a database was used to exemplify value operationalization. The research utilized a theoretical framework based on four value positions: professionalism, efficiency, service, and engagement. The findings reveal that service and quality, and productivity and legality have a high priority, while engagement values are less prioritized. Differences based on organization type and size are also discussed. Moreover, the study suggests that professionalism and efficiency are distinct value positions, while service and engagement are closely related through citizen centricity. The qualitative material suggests that citizen centricity can manifest itself as a form of service logic, but also in the form of educational digital inclusion activities for vulnerable groups. The paper concludes by suggesting that future research should further refine the concept of citizen centricity in relation to digital government values, since its current meaning is ambiguous.