Proactivity in digital public services: Core differences between different types and their success factors

With proactive public services, governments approach citizens with suggestions or automatic service delivery instead of waiting for them to submit applications. Current literature lacks an understanding of how digital public services with various degrees of proactivity differ and which factors drive and limit their introduction. Aiming to fill this gap, this study suggests core differences between digital public services with various degrees of proactivity and a two-dimensional understanding of success factors. Departing from the literature on proactive digital public services, it looks at income tax assessment for employees in three different countries. For this purpose, 12 semi-structured interviews with civil servants from Germany, Sweden, and Austria were conducted. The results suggest that some aspects scholars previously identified as differences between services with different levels of proactivity may be contingent on factors other than proactivity. This leads to the...Show moreWith proactive public services, governments approach citizens with suggestions or automatic service delivery instead of waiting for them to submit applications. Current literature lacks an understanding of how digital public services with various degrees of proactivity differ and which factors drive and limit their introduction. Aiming to fill this gap, this study suggests core differences between digital public services with various degrees of proactivity and a two-dimensional understanding of success factors. Departing from the literature on proactive digital public services, it looks at income tax assessment for employees in three different countries. For this purpose, 12 semi-structured interviews with civil servants from Germany, Sweden, and Austria were conducted. The results suggest that some aspects scholars previously identified as differences between services with different levels of proactivity may be contingent on factors other than proactivity. This leads to the proposition of core differences. Building on the enacting electronic government success framework, this study proposes that organizational, institutional, and environmental driving and limiting factors operate at different levels. The findings enrich academic understanding of proactivity in digital public services and contribute to the enacting electronic government success framework. They invite future research on both success factors and different degrees of proactivity.Show less

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Proactivity in digital public services: Core differences between different types and their success factors