Despite various efforts to introduce support measures and financial incentives to improve innovation in the public sector, it is widely perceived that the adoption of innovation is a slow and complex process (Albury, 2005; Coriat and Levinthal, 1990). Evidence of previous research indicates that the adoption of innovation varies considerably across public sector organisations, regardless of the perceived potential benefit of the new product (or service) (Cash and MOster, 2000; Edquist, 2005).The public procurement and innovation literature emphasises the potential of public sector organisations as important buyers and adopters of innovation, highlighting the role of public demand for the triggering and diffusion of innovation (Edler et al. 2011; Cunningham and Karakasidou, 2009; Edquist, 1997). However, innovation adoption in the public sector has been characterised as a slow and unpredictable process where the underlying institutional factors that play a role in the adoption process are not fully understood (Albury, 2005; Allman et al., 2011). The topic of poor adoption in the public sector is of great significance, not only for the innovation agenda, but also due to the increasing pressure on the public sector to achieve higher quality services with more efficient allocation of resources, particularly the NHS (Bonoma, 1985).The main objective of the research is to address the problem of slow and inconsistent adoption of innovation in the public sector, by providing a more holistic and institutional perspective to the study of innovation adoption, addressing the lack of context specific research on the topic. A major focus of this work is to understand the relationship between the adoption of innovation and institutions as a means to establish a more in-depth understanding of the institutional features that influence the adoption process. The research focuses on new technology procurement cases in the context of the English and Scottish NHS system, as two different institutional contexts, in order to identify the institutional features at the system’s and organisational level hat make a difference in adoption of innovation.

Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are becoming increasing relevant in policy making and governance activities. However, the broad effects of digital governance have not been adequately conceptualised; conflicting assumptions vary from rather optimistic accounts of empowered citizens to even completely dismissing the potential of engagement through technical means. This research attempts to reposition the impact of ICTs on policy making and political communities. Drawing from institutional studies, an integrated perspective is synthesised to guide case investigations in three main directions: (1) the way influences from the institutional environment are understood and balanced locally, (2) the co-evolution of institutional and technological configurations and (3) the dynamic response of institutional actors to the challenge of online engagement. The empirical part focuses on two different contexts (local government authorities and a trade union federation) that cover the holistic objective of this study. The findings inform on the extent to which ICTs are actually merging with existing governance structures. Both studies show that policy making is fundamentally different from other activities at the general intersection of Internet and politics. Citizens form online communities to organise ad hoc around single issue movements. However, this does not necessarily translate into sustainable and meaningful participation in formal politics. Hence, adapting institutional structures emerges as a complicated challenge beyond fitting technical means into existing engagement activities. On this basis, the thesis questions the extent to which policy making mechanisms are able to enact engagement from the grassroots, as for example encouraged by the social media collaboration philosophy. Implications for practice show how the alignment between new tools and the existing norms has the potential to identify paths of least resistance, and then exploit them to accomplish positives changes whose beneficial effects should not be taken for granted.

La publication de l’encyclique Laudato Si’ a contribué à la médiatisation du processus de « conversion » de l’Église catholique à l’écologie. Par l’analyse de ce mouvement dans le contexte français, nous entendons isoler les effets structurels de l’intégration du référent écologiste sur une institution religieuse. Trois niveaux d’analyse sont ici adoptés : un niveau philosophique qui traite du discours papal sur l’écologie, un niveau individuel qui s’intéresse à l’identité des militants, et un niveau institutionnel qui évalue la portée du mouvement catholique en faveur de l’écologie. À chacun de ces échelons, l’Église catholique adopte une posture d’accommodement, en mettant l’accent sur la nécessité d’une spiritualisation des enjeux écologistes, qui valorise la relation au détriment de l’individualisme. Légitimé par le Vatican, le mouvement catholique écologiste s’organise ainsi autour d’initiatives locales sous le contrôle bienveillant et souple d’une minorité épiscopale. Cette autonomie acquise par les militants n’affaiblit cependant pas la hiérarchie, certains acteurs trouvant un avantage à perpétrer l’image d’une institution susceptible de répondre aux incertitudes engendrées par nos sociétés. La « conversion » de l’Église à l’écologie génère donc un double mouvement d’individualisation de l’engagement militant et d’implication institutionnelle dans les controverses écologistes. Ce mouvement contraire favorise, assurément, l’institutionnalisation de l’écologie. Mais cette « conversion » ne sera effective que si l’Église s’inscrit dans une quête de cohérence, où le maintien d’une ligne politique sera aussi décisif que la valorisation d’une spiritualité écologiste. / The publication of Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’ contributed to the exposure of the Catholic Church’s “conversion” to ecology. By analysing this emerging movement in the French context, we want to single out the structural effects of the assimilation of environmental concern by a religious institution. Three levels of analysis will be followed: a philosophical, an individual and an institutional one. The first step will evaluate the papal line on ecology, the second will focus on the identity of Catholic ecologist activists, and the third one will assess the scope of the Church’s ecological movement. On each of these aspects, the Catholic Church reach a compromise with postmodern society, emphasizing the need for a spiritualization of ecological stakes, which values relationship at the expense of individualism. Legitimized by the Vatican, the Catholic ecological movement is organized around local initiatives under the soft control of the episcopate. However, this autonomy acquired by the activists doesn’t weaken the hierarchy of the Church, since militants find an advantage in preserving the image of an institution capable of responding to the uncertainties caused by our societies. The Church “conversion” to ecology thus generates an individualization of militant commitment along with institutional involvement in environmental controversies. These contrary motions certainly promote the institutionalization of environmental concern. Nevertheless, this “conversion” will only be effective if the Church is incorporated within the framework of a quest for greater consistency, where policy making will be as important as the value of spirituality.