Managerial and contextual factors influencing innovation in information technology-based public sector services: an exploratory cross-national study
Failid
Kuupäev
2014-12-03
Autorid
Ajakirja pealkiri
Ajakirja ISSN
Köite pealkiri
Kirjastaja
Abstrakt
Käesolev doktoritöö keskendub innovatsioonile avalikus sektoris. Püsiv majanduslik ebastabiilsus, riikide võlakoorem, ühiskondade vananemine, arenenud maailma paigaltammuv majanduskasv ning püsivalt kõrge töö- ja tööjõupuudus, muudavad jätkuva kulude kokkuhoiu avalikus sektoris vältimatuks. Samal ajal suureneb vajadus avalike teenuste kvaliteedi säilitamiseks ja kasvatamiseks, veelgi enam aga radikaalsete lahenduste leidmiseks üha komplekssematele probleemidele. Vaja on uusi arenguideid, liidreid, tõhusaid juhtimismudeleid ja võimekaid organisatsioone, et neile väljakutsetele vastata. Seepärast on muutunud innovatsioonivõimekus avalikus sektoris keskseks teemaks, riikide ning tervete piirkondade konkurentsivõime küsimuseks.
Vaatamata väljakutsetele on innovatsioon avalikus sektoris pigem erand kui reegel. Erasektoris on uute või oluliselt parendatud toodete ja teenuste väljaarendamine äritegevuse strateegiline osa – seda tõukavad tagant nii konkurents turul kui ka soov kasvatada käivet, kasumit ja turuosa. Kuivõrd sellised konkurentsi ja ellujäämise väljakutsed avalikus sektoris enamasti puuduvad, on innovatsioon riigijuhtimise või kohaliku omavalitsuse tasandil paremal juhul vabatahtlik tegevus. Seda seepärast, et uute algatuste, tehnoloogia ja eksperimenteerimisega kaasnevad erinevad riskid, mille suhtes on juhtkondade tolerantsust piiratud. Näiteks poliitilistel kaalutlustel. Üksikisiku tasandil pärsib innovatsiooniga tegelemist lisaks riskidele ka rahalise motivatsiooni puudumine, eeskujude vähesus, bürokraatlikus mõttes jäigad organisatsioonid ja rutiinist kõrvalekaldumist vältivad regulatsioonid.
Avaliku sektori innovatiivsus, innovatsioonid ja innovatsiooniprotsess on empiirilises mõttes väheuuritud valdkonnad. Samas ühiskonna väljakutseid ja nende komplekssust silmas pidades on tegemist äärmiselt olulise teemaderingiga, mida lähimal kümnendil kindlasti enam lahti püütakse mõtestada. Suure tõenäosusega on globaalses konkurentsis tulevikus edukamad just need riigid, kes innovatsioonijuhtimise võimekuses ja tulemuslikkuses teisi edestavad – seda nii era-, avalikus- ja kolmandas sektoris kui ka nende üleses koostöös.
Käesoleva väitekirja eesmärk on tuua välja, milline on erinevate innovatsiooniprotsessi mõjutavate juhtimisalaste ja kontekstitegurite vastastikune olulisus infotehnoloogiapõhiste avalike teenuste väljaarendamisele ning kuidas see mõjutab avalike teenuste innovatsioonisüsteemi olemust. Uurimustöö empiiriline osa põhineb nelja valitud riigi – Suurbritannia, Taani, Soome ja Eesti võrdlusuuringul. Tegemist on ühega esimestest kvantitatiivsetest uuringutest (läbiviidud 2005. aastal), mis keskendub tehnoloogiliselt innovatiivsete avalike teenuste arendamist mõjutavate tegurite ja nende vastastikuse olulisuse hindamisele. Uurimustöö tulemused publitseeriti osaliselt esmakordselt 2007. aastal (Pärna ja von Tunzelmann, 2007).
Doktoritöö näol on tegemist otsingulise (ingl. k. exploratory) uurimustööga, mis põhineb originaalsel ja mahukal teoreetiliste lähenemiste sünteesil, unikaalsel metodoloogilisel lahenduskäigul ja töö raames läbi viidud riikideülesel empiirilisel uuringul. Eesmärgi saavutamisel keskendub doktoritöö nii teoreetilises kui ka empiirilises osas neljale innovatsiooniteooriast lähtuvalt olulisele vaatele, milleks on juhtimise, õppimise, tehnoloogia- ja süsteemivaade. Sellele raamistikule tuginevalt on üles ehitatud nii doktoritöö ala-uurimisküsimused (ingl. k. sub-research questions) kui ka töös tõestatavad/ümberlükatavad väited (ingl. k. propositions). Töös otsitakse vastust neljale järgnevale ala-uurimisküsimusele. Esmalt juhtimisalane perspektiiv – millised võtmetegurid ja millisel määral mõjutavad, soodustavad või takistavad, tehnoloogiliselt innovatiivsete avalike teenuste arendamist ning kasutuselevõttu? Teiseks õppimise perspektiiv – millised juhtimisalased ja organisatoorsed teadmised ning oskused on vajalikud edukaks tehnoloogiliseks innovatsiooniks avalikes teenustes? Kolmandaks tehnoloogia perspektiiv – milline on tehnoloogilise teadmise olulisus avalikke teenuseid puudutavas innovatsiooniprotsessis ning kus ja kuidas need teadmised on välja arendatud? Neljandaks süsteemi perspektiiv – milline on avalike teenuste väljaarendamist mõjutava innovatsioonisüsteemi tegurite kompositsioon ja nende omavaheline dünaamika erinevates riikides?
This research is about innovation in the public sector. In a time of on-going economic instability (which started with the 2007-2008 global financial crises), sovereign debt crises in Europe (but also elsewhere), aging societies, and almost non-growing developed economies together with unemployment, make continued cost cutting in the public sector inevitable. On the other hand, there is a growing need for maintaining service standards, to find radical solutions for complex challenges and effective ideas for development and growth. Therefore, public sector innovation becomes more crucial than ever before. The research question of the thesis asks what is the relative importance of different managerial and contextual factors influencing the innovation process in information technology-based public sector services and how do they determine the nature of public service innovation system? The research is based on a combination of theoretical foundations and an exploratory cross-country survey on technologically innovative public sector services in four European countries – the UK, Denmark, Finland and Estonia. The current research is one of the early case-based empirical and quantitative exercises (the survey originated from 2005) to study innovation in the public sector. The results of the survey were partly first published by Pärna and von Tunzelmann in 2007. In addition to existing theoretical and empirical knowledge about innovation in the public sector, the research has four perspectives through which the sub-research questions and propositions are set up and the public sector innovation process is analysed. These are managerial, learning, technological and systems perspective. The research answers to the following sub-research questions: what are the key features influencing, supporting and hampering, the development and implementation of successful, technologically innovative public sector services (managerial perspective); which managerial and organisational improvements are necessary to innovate in public sector services (learning perspective); what is the importance of technological knowledge in the public service innovation process, where and how is it developed (technological perspective); and what does the composition and dynamics of public sector (service) innovation system look like across countries (systems perspective). The main contribution of new knowledge of this thesis is four-fold. Firstly, the purposely developed theoretical framework that gives a structured approach how to understand and manage innovation in public sector services. Secondly, the new conceptual-methodological approach of how to study and analyse the innovation process in public service organisations. Thirdly, the hand-made list of public service innovations from four countries and the database of the survey results. Fourthly, the quantitative analysis and synthesis of the survey results which characterises the innovation process of public service organisations in the survey countries. As an important contribution, this thesis shows empirically how different internal and external forces and factors within the public service innovation system influence the innovation process and how they differ across countries. Research results contribute to the literature of public sector innovation and management as well as enrich academic and professional debates around these increasingly important topics. Additionally, contributions can also be drawn for economic theory, organisational theory, public administration and political science. The results might be also useful for policy-makers and public service managers to successfully encourage and manage innovation in the public sector. Knowing the key features influencing the development and implementation of successful technologically innovative public sector services is a prerequisite in this process. The research also explores to what extent the innovation process differs between the public and private sectors and which managerial and organisational improvements are necessary to innovate in public sector services. Innovation-related learning in the public sector is also analysed in this research.
This research is about innovation in the public sector. In a time of on-going economic instability (which started with the 2007-2008 global financial crises), sovereign debt crises in Europe (but also elsewhere), aging societies, and almost non-growing developed economies together with unemployment, make continued cost cutting in the public sector inevitable. On the other hand, there is a growing need for maintaining service standards, to find radical solutions for complex challenges and effective ideas for development and growth. Therefore, public sector innovation becomes more crucial than ever before. The research question of the thesis asks what is the relative importance of different managerial and contextual factors influencing the innovation process in information technology-based public sector services and how do they determine the nature of public service innovation system? The research is based on a combination of theoretical foundations and an exploratory cross-country survey on technologically innovative public sector services in four European countries – the UK, Denmark, Finland and Estonia. The current research is one of the early case-based empirical and quantitative exercises (the survey originated from 2005) to study innovation in the public sector. The results of the survey were partly first published by Pärna and von Tunzelmann in 2007. In addition to existing theoretical and empirical knowledge about innovation in the public sector, the research has four perspectives through which the sub-research questions and propositions are set up and the public sector innovation process is analysed. These are managerial, learning, technological and systems perspective. The research answers to the following sub-research questions: what are the key features influencing, supporting and hampering, the development and implementation of successful, technologically innovative public sector services (managerial perspective); which managerial and organisational improvements are necessary to innovate in public sector services (learning perspective); what is the importance of technological knowledge in the public service innovation process, where and how is it developed (technological perspective); and what does the composition and dynamics of public sector (service) innovation system look like across countries (systems perspective). The main contribution of new knowledge of this thesis is four-fold. Firstly, the purposely developed theoretical framework that gives a structured approach how to understand and manage innovation in public sector services. Secondly, the new conceptual-methodological approach of how to study and analyse the innovation process in public service organisations. Thirdly, the hand-made list of public service innovations from four countries and the database of the survey results. Fourthly, the quantitative analysis and synthesis of the survey results which characterises the innovation process of public service organisations in the survey countries. As an important contribution, this thesis shows empirically how different internal and external forces and factors within the public service innovation system influence the innovation process and how they differ across countries. Research results contribute to the literature of public sector innovation and management as well as enrich academic and professional debates around these increasingly important topics. Additionally, contributions can also be drawn for economic theory, organisational theory, public administration and political science. The results might be also useful for policy-makers and public service managers to successfully encourage and manage innovation in the public sector. Knowing the key features influencing the development and implementation of successful technologically innovative public sector services is a prerequisite in this process. The research also explores to what extent the innovation process differs between the public and private sectors and which managerial and organisational improvements are necessary to innovate in public sector services. Innovation-related learning in the public sector is also analysed in this research.
Kirjeldus
Märksõnad
avalik sektor, innovatsioonid, avalikud teenused, juhtimine, süsteemide juhtimine, organisatsioonid, õppiv organisatsioon, infotehnoloogia, tehnoloogilised uuendused, public sector, innovations, public services, management, systems management, organizations, learning organisation, information technology, technological innovations