The rapid development of information and communication technologies (ICT) is changing the service of the public sector. Previously, the government and public sector acted as street-level...Show moreThe rapid development of information and communication technologies (ICT) is changing the service of the public sector. Previously, the government and public sector acted as street-level bureaucrats on an individual and physical level, according to the street-level bureaucracy theory. In the meantime, many sectors have replaced physical contact with system analysts and software developers and have become influenced by system-level bureaucracies. This article examines the implementation of this transformation in the Dutch mental healthcare. More specifically, this study compares the opinions of street-level bureaucrats (i.e., psychologists) and system-level bureaucrats (i.e., data experts) concerning the levels of satisfaction of digital services (i.e., digital therapy forms). In total, eight participants (four psychologists and four data experts) were interviewed. In accordance with the hypothesis, data experts were slightly more positive toward digital therapy forms as compared to psychologists. Interesting was the fact that the data experts were aware of the disadvantages experienced by the psychologists. Larger sample sizes are needed to draw valid and more generalizable conclusions. As research on the level of satisfaction of both psychologists and data experts against online therapy forms from a street- and system-level bureaucracy perspective is scarce, more research is required to investigate which factors contribute to the difference in opinions between street- and system-level bureaucrats. By identifying such factors, our basic understanding of digital services in the public services increases, and digital innovations can be more effective to match the street-level bureaucrats’ needs.Show less
