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Jesper Berger

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Papers by Jesper Berger

When stage setting a success gets in the way of real learning

Formative evaluation and user engagement: A model to ensure value from e-government

Governments are investing in e-government to enhance public sector efficiency. It has been argued... more Governments are investing in e-government to enhance public sector efficiency. It has been argued by e-government scholars that citizens’ demand for e-government does not meet expectations; hence governments might not achieve the expected benefits. This study investigates formative evaluation as a method to ensure e-government benefits realization. The case is ex-post evaluation of value from digital communication in a citizen service center at a Danish municipality and was conducted as Action Research. Barriers to adoption were revealed, addressed and eliminated during the formative evaluation process. Clear expectations from top management, assessments and disclosure of workers' behavior and commitment from managers proved pivotal in the benefits realization process. Further research into the internal e-government adoption processes and the impact from external factors is needed in order to understand more profoundly the challenges for realizing benefits from e-government.

Coercive E-Government Policy Imposing Harm: The Need for a Responsible E-Government Ethics

Governments around the world are implementing e-government to achieve the widely anticipated posi... more Governments around the world are implementing e-government to achieve the widely anticipated positive outcomes - especially increased public sector efficiency. However, both public sector and citizen adoption of e-government lacks behind expectations and documented benefits from e-government investments are sparse. This may result in governments forcing citizens to e-government use, thus enforcing benefits realization. This paper reports from a case study of coercive e-government. The enactment of coercive digital communication between public sector and citizens in Denmark were explored through qualitative and quantitative empirical studies over three years. This case reveals that the coercive strategy imposed harm on individual, organizational and at societal levels. A responsible e-government ethics is derived from the empirical findings as a step to mitigate unintended harm from coercive e-government.

Secure Digital Post in the Scandinavian Countries

Digitization of communication between public administration and citizens seems to be a global tre... more Digitization of communication between public administration and citizens seems to be a global trend in societies' developments. The effects of such e-government initiatives depend, however on each countries particular policy and design decisions. The aim of this paper is to compare the enactment of particular policies in supposedly similar contexts. The comparative case constitutes digital communication between public sector and citizens in the Scandinavian countries. From a grounded approach, we have described the policy, design and effects elements of the three case settings. Our study indicates that apparently similar solutions in comparable contexts may be enacted in rather different ways and have quite different effects. We find that the three countries operate on a scale of coercion from mandatory (Denmark), over nudging (Norway) to voluntary (Sweden).

First Choice, Free Choice or No Choice

Electronic Participation, 2016

As part of their egovernment plans, many countries aim at digitizing their communication with its... more

Secure Digital Post in the Scandinavian Countries

Digitization of communication between public administration and citizens seems to be a global tre... more Digitization of communication between public administration and citizens seems to be a global trend in societies’ developments. The effects of such e-government initiatives depend, however on each countries particular policy and design decisions. The aim of this paper is to compare the enactment of particular policies in supposedly similar contexts. The comparative case constitutes digital communication between public sector and citizens in the Scandinavian countries. From a grounded approach, we have described the policy, design and effects elements of the three case settings. Our study indicates that apparently similar solutions in comparable contexts may be enacted in rather different ways and have quite different effects. We find that the three countries operate on a scale of coercion from mandatory (Denmark), over nudging (Norway) to voluntary (Sweden). Keywords: e-government, digital communication, policy, design, effect

Digital kommunikation med den offentlige sektor: Årsager til manglende svar på digital post (delrapport 3)

, Tlf. 5142-1123 Denne publikation kan downloades via vbn.aau.dk Publikationen er et såkaldt work... more , Tlf. 5142-1123 Denne publikation kan downloades via vbn.aau.dk Publikationen er et såkaldt workingpaper, hvor vi mere end gerne modtager forslag og kommentarer til forbedringer. Der er i publikationen en raekke aktive links til publikationer m.v. De er i workingpaperet fremhaevet med kursiv skrifttype.

Digital kommunikation med den offentlige sektor: Styrelser og statslige institutioner. Delrapport 2

Digital kommunikation med den offentlige sektor: Hovedresultater fra undersøgelse om svar og svartider i kommuner, regioner, styrelser, statslige institutioner og departementer

Online communication with the public sector:Main conclusions from study on response and responsetime in municipalities, regions and state departments

Is digital post good service for the citizens?

Er digital post en god service for borgerne?

Digital kommunikation med den offentlige sektor på fem konkrete fagområder: Undersøgelse om Digital Post, svar og svartider i 8 kommuner

Københavns Universitet Adoption Patterns for the Digital Post System by Danish Municipalities and Citizens Association for Information Systems AIS Electronic Library (AISeL) ECIS 2014 Proceedings ADOPTION PATTERNS FOR THE DIGITAL POST SYSTEM BY DANISH MUN

The value of e-government, services to citizens by public institutions through the internet, is d... more The value of e-government, services to citizens by public institutions through the internet, is dependent on the mutual adoption of e-government by both the public institution and the citizens. This paper describes a longitudinal study of e-government adoption by municipalities and citizens in Denmark. We studied the e-government initiative Digital Postencrypted digital communication between municipalities and citizens. Over the three-year adoption period, we found four adoption patterns among municipalities, characterized by a slow, late, gradual or early increase in the use of Digital Post. The adoption patterns among citizens were less distinct. We calculated the realized savings to only 20% of the anticipated savings, leading to a deficit of nearly €5 million in 2013. Municipal funding was reduced according to the anticipated savings. In addition, the variation in adoption by municipal staff explained much more of the variation in the deficit than the variation in adoption by citizens did. We wish to draw attention to the overly optimistic expectations of savings from egovernment and to a need for further research into the governmental processes of e-government.

format_quoteMunicipalities face significant postal costs, estimated between €240 to €330 million, prompting a €6 million funding reduction due to digital adoption savings.format_quote

E-government harm: An assessment of the Danish coercive digital post strategy

This paper presents a study of development in leading e-government papers from 2001-2010. Inspire... more This paper presents a study of development in leading e-government papers from 2001-2010. Inspired by a study by Heeks and Bailur, the analysis uses a different sampling method, adds new themes, and focuses on changes over time. Through an iterative process known as template analysis the five most cited papers from each year are analyzed according to themes such as perspectives on the impact and impact causes of e-government, methods used, underlying research philosophies and recommendations. Findings indicate that the papers are still somewhat optimistic regarding the impact of e-government, but no longer as technologically deterministic. Discussions of research philosophies start to appear, as do social constructionist studies, although most papers are still positivistic. There is an increase in the use of primary data, and some movement in focus from infrastructure and services towards citizens. There is little development in the discussions of generalization of results and recom...

Formative evaluation and user engagement: A model to ensure value from e-government

Abstract. Governments are investing in e-government to enhance public sector efficiency. It has b... more Abstract. Governments are investing in e-government to enhance public sector efficiency. It has been argued by e-government scholars that citizens’ demand for e-government does not meet expectations; hence governments might not achieve the expected benefits. This study investigates formative evaluation as a method to ensure e-government benefits realization. The case is ex-post evaluation of value from digital communication in a citizen service center at a Danish municipality and was conducted as Action Research. Barriers to adoption were revealed, addressed and eliminated during the formative evaluation process. Clear expectations from top management, assessments and disclosure of workers' behavior and commitment from managers proved pivotal in the benefits realization process. Further research into the internal e-government adoption processes and the impact from external factors is needed in order to understand more profoundly the challenges for realizing benefits from e-gover...

Mandatory e-government has arrived: The silent protest from staff calls for the committed scholar – resistance must never be futile!

The great potential in e-government- the provision of public services to citizens through the int... more The great potential in e-government- the provision of public services to citizens through the internet- is widely recognized by governments and expectations of the benefits are high. E-government research has been preoccupied with its evolution, public websites and citizen adoption, from a ‘natural growth and voluntary use’ perspective. Little attention has been drawn to mandatory e-government. This paper reports from an exploratory study on a Danish mandatory e-government initiative – enforced e-communication between local government and citizens. Civil servants ’ perception was investigated through two Focus groups. Civil servants reported that some citizens find it really hard to manage computer and e-communication. Moreover, the civil servants feel that they are not allowed to offer the necessary assistance, which makes them frustrated. They find that especially weak citizens may lose welfare benefits due to e-communication. This has a negative effect on motivation and work life...

Does local government staff perceive digital communication with citizens as improved service?

Government Information Quarterly, 2016

Digital communication between government and citizens is pivotal to e-government. The Danish egov... more Digital communication between government and citizens is pivotal to e-government. The Danish egovernment initiative Digital Post aims to digitize all communication between government and citizens. We surveyed local government staff about how Digital Post affects the service delivered to citizens. As much as 82% of the 448 respondents considered digital communication with citizens using Digital Post a good idea, yet 47% reported concrete incidents in which they perceived a decrease in service with Digital Post. This result shows the importance of distinguishing between the overall service relationship and the concrete incidents of which the service consists. We discuss interactions between the relationship level and the incident level of Digital Post on the basis of a content analysis of the respondents' incident descriptions.

Digital kommunikation med den offentlige sektor: Årsager til manglende svar på digital post

Undersøgelsen er finansieret af Kommunekredit på baggrund af et samarbejde mellem Assens, Balleru... more

Digital kommunikation med den offentlige sektor: Styrelser og statslige institutioner

Undersøgelsen er finansieret af Kommunekredit på baggrund af et samarbejde mellem Assens, Balleru... more