Why City Welfare Systems Fail: The Tech Vendor's View
A new study reveals that private IT firms struggle to modernize local welfare services because governments lack basic digital governance and coordination. The chaos forces tech suppliers to absorb costs and risks, raising questions about procurement efficiency and whether municipalities are equipped to manage these critical outsourcing relationships.
Originaltitel: Supporting Public Welfare Digitalization: A Supplier Perspective
<p>Local governments responsible for welfare provision regularly outsource information and communication technology (ICT) development and services. Despite the reliance on private-sector ICT firms, little attention has been paid to the capabilities of these firms and their perspective on public-sector digitalization. This paper addresses this research gap by examining how ICT-supplier firms view 1) what constitutes their most important capabilities in the context of public-welfare digitalization and 2) what factors influence their creation and character. The study employs an interpretative research design, using semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis. The results indicate that ICT suppliers rely on higher-order relational capabilities to enable them to deploy value-adding capabilities. Additionally, the results show that inadequate municipal ICT governance, public-sector coordination, and insufficient procurement practices cause systemic uncertainty, which ICT suppliers are required to manage.</p>