Deconstructing complexity: A comparative study of government collaboration in national digital platforms and smart city networks in Europe

Breaugh, Jessica, Rackwitz, Mackwitz, Hammerschmid, Gerhard, Nõmmik, Steven, Bello, Benedetta, Boon, Jan, Van Doninck, Dries, Downe, James ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0772-3183 and Randma-Liiv, Tiina 2023. Deconstructing complexity: A comparative study of government collaboration in national digital platforms and smart city networks in Europe. Public Policy and Administration 10.1177/09520767231169401

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Abstract

This research deconstructs complexity as a key challenge of intergovernmental digitalisation projects. While much of the literature acknowledges that the fundamental restructuring coupled with technical capacity that these joint projects require leads to increased complexity, little is known about how different types of complexity interact within the collaborative process. Using Klijn and Koppenjan’s (2014) work on substantive, strategic, and institutional complexity, we apply complexity theory in collaborative digital environments. To do so, eight digital projects are analysed that differ by state structure and government level. Using a cross-case design with 50 semi-structured expert interviews, we find that each digitalisation project exhibits all types of complexity and that these complexities overlap. However, clear differences emerge between national and local level projects, suggesting that complexity in digitalisation processes presents different challenges for collaborative digitalisation projects across contexts.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Published Online
Status:	In Press
Schools:	Business (Including Economics) Wales Centre for Public Policy (WCPP)
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
ISSN:	0952-0767
Funders:	European Commission
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	5 April 2023
Date of Acceptance:	23 March 2023
Last Modified:	24 May 2023 17:40
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/158424

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