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AbstractEstonia, being one of the most diligent students of the neo‐liberal economic paradigm among the Central and Eastern European transitional countries, has declared that private organisations should be given the chance to operate public prisons. This article argues that in spite of the promising perspective of this idea, the transitional context mixed with the complex nature of incarceration services, sets serious limits for a successful application of the initiative. After identifying four key sources of limiting factors of contracting out, which concern political, legal, administrative and economic aspects, the article gives a brief overview of the development of the Estonian public administration and prison system. It is argued that although no political limits could be identified, there exists some legal and most importantly administrative and economic limits for contracting out prisons in Estonia. There is a need to understand that due to problems inherent in transitional countries such as a low administrative capacity and underdeveloped markets, the implementation of contracting out in cases of complex public services does not solve but transfer the essence of the problems. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

AbstractDrawing from case studies from the Estonian biotechnology sector, we demonstrate that a focus on the classic formal approach to technology transfer does not fully capture the dynamics and challenges of technology transfer in a peripheral context. We focus on biotechnology because this is an area where entrepreneurial orientation of knowledge institutions and formal models of technology transfer are highly visible. Our case studies show that the knowledge generation and the diffusion contexts of peripheral economies can create barriers to technology transfer that conventional policy approaches do not address.

Digital transformation has the potential to profoundly change the way public administrations deliver public services to its users. One of the challenges involved in the inter-organizational networks that often govern integrated digital services is to identify what coordination instruments are effective. In this paper we examine this issue through a case study that deals with the transformation of invoicing services in Belgian public administrations at the federal and Flemish (regional) level. We review the coordination instruments and study how they evolved over time. Our findings suggest that transformation (1) might in part depend on the choice of instruments and multiple mechanisms. The mix of appropriate coordination instruments is likely to change as digital transformation objectives and governance challenges evolve over time. (2) Digital transformation might be a step-by-step process involving multiple rounds of digitalization and its specific implementation contingent on the service itself.

Digital transformation has the potential to profoundly change the way public administrations deliver public services to its users. One of the challenges involved in the inter-organizational networks that often govern integrated digital services is to identify what coordination instruments are effective. In this paper we examine this issue through a case study that deals with the transformation of invoicing services in Belgian public administrations at the federal and Flemish (regional) level. We review the coordination instruments and study how they evolved over time. Our findings suggest that transformation (1) might in part depend on the choice of instruments and multiple mechanisms. The mix of appropriate coordination instruments is likely to change as digital transformation objectives and governance challenges evolve over time. (2) Digital transformation might be a step-by-step process involving multiple rounds of digitalization and its specific implementation contingent on the service itself.

La technologie est un facteur essentiel dans la vie des organisations. Rares sont pourtant les études qui s'intéressent à la technologie et aux organisations publiques. Dans le présent article, nous proposons de comprendre l'évolution technologique dans le secteur public, en particulier la manière dont la technologie influence la capacité administrative, au moyen d'un nouveau concept lié à la capacité technologique. Nous utilisons le cas de l'Estonie (internationalement associée à une image d'État électronique bien établi) pour répondre à deux questions de recherche : pourquoi et comment le changement technologique a-t-il lieu dans le secteur public, et quelle est son influence sur la capacité administrative dans les organisations publiques ? Nous allons voir que l'évolution dynamique et statique dans les capacités technologiques est influencée par quatre mécanismes de feedback et de sélection différents dans le secteur public. En conclusion, nous verrons que, malgré le faible intérêt de la littérature sur l'administration publique pour la question de la technologie, celle-ci est un facteur intrinsèque dans la manière dont la capacité administrative évolue. Remarques à l'intention des praticiens Dans le présent article, nous soutenons que le changement technologique dans le secteur public n'est pas qu'une question de compétences techniques, mais que la technologie a un impact fondamental sur la manière dont les organisations publiques fonctionnent et sur la manière dont les services sont offerts. Il existe néanmoins des différences fondamentales dans la rapidité avec laquelle la technologie fait sentir ses effets dans les différentes organisations et les différents services, ainsi que dans la direction de ces effets. Certaines organisations parviennent à développer les capacités technologiques et connaissent des évolutions rapides et transformatrices, contrairement à d'autres qui, par conséquent, connaissent une évolution progressive. Les causes à l'origine de cette différence sont à la fois internes et externes. Les organisations qui présentent des capacités technologiques dynamiques gèrent bien l'ambidextrie : elles recherchent de nouvelles solutions tout en parvenant à offrir des services de haut niveau. Nous proposons de nouvelles explications pour ce phénomène.

Technology is clearly a critical factor in the lives of organizations, yet there are only a few studies that deal with technology and public organizations. In this article, we propose to understand technological change in the public sector, in particular, how technology influences administrative capacity, through a new concept of technological capacity. We use the case of Estonia – internationally associated with a strong e-state profile – as an exploratory case to answer two research questions: 'Why and how does technological change take place in the public sector?' and 'How does technological change influence administrative capacity in public organizations?' We demonstrate how dynamic and static change in technological capacities is influenced by four different public sector feedback and selection mechanisms. We conclude that in spite of the neglected position of technology in the public administration literature, technology is an intrinsic factor in how administrative capacity evolves.