Yes / With the advancement of disruptive new technologies, there has been a considerable focus on personalisation as an important component in nurturing users' engagement. In the context of smart cities, Internet of Things (IoT) offer a unique opportunity to help empower citizens and improve societies' engagement with their governments at both micro and macro levels. This study aims to examine the role of perceived value of IoT in improving citizens' engagement with public services. A survey of 313 citizens in the UK, engaging in various public services, enabled through IoT, found that the perceived value of IoT is strongly influenced by empowerment, perceived usefulness and privacy related issues resulting in significantly affecting their continuous use intentions. The study offers valuable insights into the importance of perceived value of IoT-enabled services, while at the same time, providing an intersectional perspective of UK citizens towards the use of disruptive new technologies in the public sector.

Yes / Business leaders and policymakers within service economies are placing greater emphasis on well-being, given the role of workers in such settings. Whilst people’s well-being can lead to economic growth, it can also have the opposite effect if overlooked. Therefore, enhancing subjective well-being (SWB) is pertinent for all organisations for the sustainable development of an economy. While health conditions were previously deemed the most reliable predictors, the availability of data on people’s personal lifestyles now offers a new dimension into well-being for organisations. Using open data available from the national Annual Population Survey in the UK, which measures SWB, this research uncovered that among several independent variables to predict varying levels of people's perceived well-being, long-term health conditions, one's marital status, and age played a key role in SWB. The proposed model provides the key indicators of measuring SWB for organisations using big data.

Yes / Purpose – Blockchain is one of the most significant emerging technologies that is set to transform many aspects of industry and society. However, it has several major technical, social, legal, environmental and ethical complexities that offer significant challenges for mainstream use within the public sector. The Covid-19 pandemic has compelled many public sector employees to work remotely, highlighting a number of challenges to blockchain adoption within the Indian context signifying the pertinence of this research topic in the post-pandemic era. This study offers insight to researchers and policymakers alike on how such challenges are interdependent within this important subject. Design/methodology/approach – We explored 16 unique sets of challenges selected from the literature and gathered data from nine experts from government settings, healthcare and education sectors and academia who have significant knowledge and experience of blockchain implementation and use in their respective organisations. The implementation of Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM) and MICMAC provided a precise set of driving, linkage and dependent challenges that were used to formulate the framework. Findings – The developed ISM framework is split into six different levels. The results suggest that the bottom level consists of challenges such as ‘Lack of standards (C9)’ and ‘Lack of validation (C10)’ form the foundation of the hierarchical structure of blockchain adoption. However, the topmost level consists of a highly dependent challenge termed ‘adoption of blockchain in the public sector (C16)’. The research filters the selected set of five challenges to develop a parsimonious model and formulated six propositions to examine the impact of ‘lack of standard (C9)’, ‘lack of validation (C10)’ on ‘security issues (C3)’ and ‘privacy concerns (C2)’, which eventually determine individuals’ ‘reluctance to use blockchain technology (C12)’. Originality/Value – This research fills a key gap in exiting research by exploring the key challenges in blockchain adoption within the public sector by developing a valuable framework to model this important topic. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first paper to address these challenges and develop a parsimonious model for challenges of blockchain adoption in the public sector settings.

Yes / Legacy systems have continued to pose a major challenge to digital transformation efforts in public administration. A comprehensive review of literature suggests seven levels of complexity in transforming legacy systems, including, being a stand-alone system, being part of a larger system, and data incompatibility, each depicting unique criteria and challenges. Nonetheless, very little is known as to what degree these complexities implicate the implementation of digital transformation efforts in public administration (PA). To address this gap, this research conducted an analysis on four cases of digital transformation in three European PA settings (i.e., Denmark, the Netherlands, and the UK). The findings revealed complexities that pose the key challenges to systems interoperability and integrability, which are crucial in any digital transformation project. In addition, a comprehensive understanding of the systems to be transformed, the policies which they are serving, and the broader PA setting in which they are implemented were deemed central to succeeding in digital transformation efforts.

The increased use of automated systems in the public sector has led to two types of processes, fully automated decision making and humans making decisions assisted by automated decision support systems (ADSS). While having a human in the loop is often motivated by having them act as a “safeguard” for imperfect automated systems, humans themselves are not perfect decision makers. Automation bias, a tendency to agree with the recommendations of automated systems even when they are wrong, is one problem facing humans using ADSS. Mainly found in monitoring tasks such as autopilots, it has also been studied in clinical decision support systems. The aim of this systematic review is to investigate whether automation bias poses a risk for ADSS in the public sector, and to identify possible moderators. Thirteen studies were included. By doing a narrative synthesis of the included studies I found mixed results for the existence of automation bias. While there is a lack of strong evidence for automation bias, even low levels could result in consequences for the public sector as these are decisions that impact citizens' everyday life. A number of moderators are identified and suggestions for system designers are made. / En ökning av automatiserade system inom offentlig sektor har lett till två typer av processer, helt automatiserade beslut och människor som tar beslut stödda av automatiserade beslutsstöd. Att ha en människa i processen är ofta motiverat av att använda dem som ett skydd mot bristfälliga automatiserade system, men människor är i sig själva inte perfekta beslutstagare. Automation bias, en tendens att följa rekommendationer från automatiserade system även när de är inkorrekta, är ett problem för människor som använder automatiserade system. Det har främst studerats i autopiloter, men också i kliniska beslutsstöd. Syftet med denna systematiska litteraturöversikt var att undersöka om automation bias är en risk för automatiserade beslutsstöd i offentlig sektor, och att identifiera möjliga moderatorer. Tretton studier inkluderades. Genom att genomföra en narrativ syntes fann jag blandade slutsatser gällande automation bias. Samtidigt som det finns begränsade starka bevis för automation bias, kan även de nivåerna resultera i konsekvenser för offentlig sektor då de tar beslut som påverkar befolkningens vardag. Ett antal moderatorer identifierades och förslag till systemdesigners presenteras.

This thesis explores and reviews extensively previous studies on the economic impact of mass immigration on Sweden with a special interest in the native population, addressing the widespread belief that the inflow of immigrants means a strain on the country's resources and negatively affects the natives. The research distinguishes between voluntary and involuntary migration and examines their respective contributions and challenges to economic growth, educational opportunities, and social mobility. Using literature and data from Statistiska Centralbyrån (Statistics Sweden)(SCB), Migrationsverket (Swedish migration services), and various empirical and theoretical studies, the research conducts an extensive literature review and analyzes whether immigration acts as an economic gain or drain for Sweden. Key aspects analyzed in the literature include but are not limited to employment dynamics, country of origin, age distribution, and education levels of immigrants. The findings uncover a complex interplay between the economic benefits and challenges posed by immigration, highlighting mixed outcomes in terms of labor market integration, wage impacts and public welfare contributions. This comprehensive analysis aims to provide a nuanced understanding of how mass immigration impacts Sweden's economy and the welfare of its native population. Keywords: Immigration, Public sector finance, native impact, fiscal effect

<p>Syftet med detta arbete är att försöka ta reda på vilka egenskaper som framtidens ledare kommer att behöva inom den kommunala sektorn, men också om det finns eventuella förutsättningar som måste förändras för framtidens ledare. Tio intervjuer genomfördes med personer på ledande positioner inom fyra kommuner i Mellansverige. Utifrån detta sammanställdes intervjumaterialet, och ur detta framkom tre övergripande huvudområden organisation, egenskaper och framtid som sen utmynnade i ett antal ledord. Mot dessa tolkades teorier i ett försök att koppla de till det framtida ledarskapet. Slutsatsen är att det inte finns bara en teori att förhålla sig till, utan det gäller att kunna hantera kontexten och förutsättningarna, och utifrån den kunna anpassa sig. Ett transformativt synsätt kring ledarskap kan vara ett sätt att lyckas i framtiden.</p>

Leadership can improve the quality of work through motivation or degrade work through pressure. Leadership effectiveness depends on style and work environment. Differences in work environment may create challenges for leaders transitioning from private to public organizations. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to examine the relationship between leadership styles and ease of transition from private to public organizations. The study included the full-range leadership model as the theoretical foundation. Seventy-seven public sector employees in Ontario, Canada, participated in a survey to measure leadership style and effectiveness of transition from private to public sector. Results of multiple linear regression analysis indicated that only the transactional leadership style had a significant positive relationship with the ease of transition from private to public sector. The study indicated that ease of transition of leaders moving from the private to the public sector would be higher for leaders who practice the transactional style of leadership more frequently. The results of this study might effect positive social change for public sector organizations in improving their hiring, orientation, and training of leaders transitioning from the private sector, resulting in better led and more effective public organizations. The result of this study could also positively affect leaders by providing a better understanding about how their styles might help or hinder their transition from the private sector, and enable them to succeed after their transition to the public sector.

The existing research into corporate entrepreneurship is based upon experiences in the private sector. Reforms of public sectors throughout the western world are focussing on entrepreneurial practices as part of a program to align public sector management practices with those of the private sector.This research concentrates on corporate entrepreneurship in the public sector and specifically addresses opportunities for the emergence of corporate entrepreneurship in Government Business Enterprises (“GBEs”).The literature assumes that entrepreneurial practices in the private sector may be foisted upon the public sector. The paper proposes that corporate entrepreneurship in the public sector is the result of different influencing factors and involves different processes from its private sector counterpart.Building on private sector research this research examines those factors that stimulate and constrain corporate entrepreneurship in the public sector. It addresses the extent to which the influences of factors that stimulate corporate entrepreneurship in the private sector are replicated in GBEs. This analysis generates a model that is founded on:1. Three research propositions that concern the correlation between those factors that foster corporate entrepreneurship in the private sector and those applicable to GBEs. They also address the preponderance of those facilitating factors in corporatised and non-corporatised GBEs; and2. An investigation into the manner in which the facilitating factors influence opportunities for the emergence of corporate entrepreneurship and the extent of that potential emergence. The presence or absence of factors that stimulate or constrain corporate entrepreneurship, however, does not explain its occurrence or absence. Public sector organisations which ensure that the influence of those factors that facilitate corporate entrepreneurship outweigh the influence of the inhibiting factors are more likely to be ready and able to react to opportunities to create value by adopting entrepreneurial processes. This is the basis of a Model that is developed and refined during the course of the paper.The Research Propositions were tested by a survey of 322 publicly urban water businesses located throughout Australia. The Model was illuminated and enhanced by considering case studies from twelve urban water businesses. The literature demonstrates that reforms to the public sector since the late 1970’s have created opportunities for corporate entrepreneurship. The literature also reveals that entrepreneurship is a strategic phenomenon. This paper demonstrates that the environment within which corporate entrepreneurship may occur is influenced by the organisation’s existence within either the public or the private sector and, within the public sector, the environmental and operating features of the entity as either a corporatised GBE, a non-corporatised GBE or other structure.

Syftet med detta arbete är att försöka ta reda på vilka egenskaper som framtidens ledare kommer att behöva inom den kommunala sektorn, men också om det finns eventuella förutsättningar som måste förändras för framtidens ledare. Tio intervjuer genomfördes med personer på ledande positioner inom fyra kommuner i Mellansverige. Utifrån detta sammanställdes intervjumaterialet, och ur detta framkom tre övergripande huvudområden organisation, egenskaper och framtid som sen utmynnade i ett antal ledord. Mot dessa tolkades teorier i ett försök att koppla de till det framtida ledarskapet. Slutsatsen är att det inte finns bara en teori att förhålla sig till, utan det gäller att kunna hantera kontexten och förutsättningarna, och utifrån den kunna anpassa sig. Ett transformativt synsätt kring ledarskap kan vara ett sätt att lyckas i framtiden.