Work

Towards an ambidextrous government

Year: 2016

Type: conference-paper

Abstract: Governments are often putting their efforts in the operation and execution of existing services without having the means to innovate. Ambidexterity is the ability to operate existing services and to innovate at the same time Ambidexterity is a concept originating from organizational studies in the private sector and is hardly used in the public sector. The goal of this paper is to identify strategies used by governments to combine exploitation and exploration. Factors influencing ambidexterity were derived from the literature and categorized in political, organizational, technological and economical categories. These factors were used to analyze two case studies. The cases revealed strategies used by government to move from exploitation to exploration. Strategies include providing incentives, like awards and prizes, to involve resources that are external to the government. The strategies can be classified as contextual ambidexterity.

Source: Annual International Conference on Digital Government Research

DOI: 10.1145/2912160.2912192

Authors: Ricardo Matheus, Marijn Janssen

Institution: Delft University of Technology

Language: English

Topic: Innovative Approaches in Technology and Social Development

Subfield: Management of Technology and Innovation

Field: Business, Management and Accounting

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Industry, innovation and infrastructure, Peace, justice, and strong institutions

Open Access status: diamond

Funders: European Commission, Horizon 2020 Framework Programme