Digital innovation in social cash organizations – the effects of the institutional interactions for transforming organizational practices

A. Kemal, M. Shah
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Abstract

PurposeWhile the potential for digital innovation (DI) to transform organizational practices is widely acknowledged in the information systems (IS) literature, there is very limited understanding on the socio-political nature of institutional interactions that determine DI and affect organizational practices in social cash organizations. Drawing on the neo-institutionalist vision, the purpose of the study is to examine the unique set of institutional exchanges that influence the transition to digital social cash payments that give rise to new institutional arrangements in social cash organizations.Design/methodology/approachThe paper draws on an in-depth case study of a government social cash organization in Pakistan. Qualitative data were collected using 30 semi-structured interviews from key organizational members and stakeholders.FindingsThe results suggest that DI is determined by the novel intersections between the coercive (techno-economic, regulatory), normative (socio-organizational), mimetic (international) and covert power (political) forces. Hence, DI is not a technologically deterministic output, but rather a complex socio-political process enacted through dialogue, negotiation and conflict between institutional actors. Technology is socially embedded through the process of institutionalization that is coupled by the deinstitutionalization of established organizational practices for progressive transformation.Research limitations/implicationsThe research has implications for government social cash organizations especially in the Global South. Empirically, the authors gained rare access to, and support from a government-backed social cash organization in Pakistan (an understudied country in the Global South), which made the data and the consequent analyses even invaluable. This made the empirical contribution within this geographical setting even more worthy, since this case study has received little attention from indigenous scholars in the past. The empirical findings showcased a unique set of contextual factors that were subject to BISP and interpreted through an account of socio-cultural sensitivities.Practical implicationsThe paper provides practical implications for policymakers and practitioners, emphasizing the need to address institutional challenges, including covert power, during the implementation of digitalization projects in the public sector. The paper has certain potential for inspiring future e-government related (or public sector focused) studies. The paper may guide both private and government policy-makers and practitioners in presenting how to overcome certain institutional challenges while planning and implementing large scale multi-stakeholder digitization projects in similar country contexts. So while there is scope of linking the digitization of public sector organizations to anti-corruption measures in other Global South countries, the paper may not be that straightforward with the private sector involvement.Social implicationsThe paper offers rich social insights on the institutional interchanges that occur between the social actors for the innovation of technology. Especially, the paper highlights the social-embeddedness nature of technology that underpins the institutionalization of new organizational practices. These have implications on how DI is viewed as a socio-political process of change.Originality/valueThis study contributes to neo-institutional theory by theorizing covert power as a political force that complements the neo-institutional framework. This force is subtle but also resistive for some political actors as the force shifts the equilibrium of power between different institutional actors. Furthermore, the paper presents the social and practical implications that guide policymakers and practitioners by taking into consideration the unique institutional challenges, such as covert power, while implementing large scale digital projects in the social cash sector.
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社会现金组织中的数字创新——制度互动对组织实践变革的影响
虽然数字创新(DI)改变组织实践的潜力在信息系统(is)文献中得到广泛认可,但对决定DI并影响社会现金组织中组织实践的制度互动的社会政治性质的理解非常有限。借鉴新制度主义的观点,本研究的目的是研究影响向数字社会现金支付过渡的独特制度交换,从而在社会现金组织中产生新的制度安排。设计/方法/途径本文对巴基斯坦政府社会现金组织进行了深入的案例研究。定性数据收集使用30半结构化访谈的主要组织成员和利益相关者。研究结果表明,人工智能是由强制性(技术经济、监管)、规范性(社会组织)、模仿(国际)和隐蔽权力(政治)力量之间的新交集决定的。因此,人工智能不是技术上确定的产出,而是一个复杂的社会政治过程,通过机构行动者之间的对话、谈判和冲突来实施。技术是通过制度化的过程嵌入社会的,而制度化的过程与为渐进式转型而建立的组织实践的去制度化相结合。研究局限/启示本研究对政府、社会现金组织具有启示意义,特别是在全球南方。从经验上看,作者很少接触到巴基斯坦(一个未被充分研究的全球南方国家)一个政府支持的社会现金组织,并得到了它的支持,这使得数据和随后的分析变得非常宝贵。这使得这个地理背景下的经验贡献更有价值,因为这个案例研究在过去很少受到本土学者的关注。实证研究结果显示了一组独特的背景因素,这些因素受BISP影响,并通过社会文化敏感性的解释来解释。本文为政策制定者和实践者提供了实际意义,强调在公共部门实施数字化项目期间需要解决制度挑战,包括隐蔽权力。本文对未来电子政务相关(或以公共部门为重点)的研究具有一定的启发潜力。本文可以指导私人和政府的政策制定者和从业者在类似国家背景下规划和实施大型多方利益相关者数字化项目时如何克服某些制度挑战。因此,虽然有将公共部门组织的数字化与其他南半球国家的反腐败措施联系起来的余地,但对于私营部门的参与,这篇论文可能没有那么直截了当。本文对技术创新的社会行动者之间的制度交换提供了丰富的社会见解。本文特别强调了技术的社会嵌入性,它是新组织实践制度化的基础。这些都影响了如何将人工智能视为一个社会政治变革过程。原创性/价值本研究通过将隐蔽权力理论化为一种补充新制度框架的政治力量,为新制度理论做出了贡献。这种力量是微妙的,但对一些政治行为者来说也是有阻力的,因为这种力量改变了不同制度行为者之间的权力平衡。此外,本文还提出了在社会现金领域实施大规模数字项目时,通过考虑独特的制度挑战(如隐蔽权力)来指导政策制定者和从业者的社会和实践意义。
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