| 11. |
- Bernhard, Irene, 1953-, et al.
(författare)
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A Study of Small Enterprises with Focus on Entrepreneurship and E-government in a Regional Development Context
- 2014
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Ingår i: Uddevalla Symposium 2014. Geography of Growth. The Frequency, Nature and Consequences of Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Regions of Varying Density<em></em>: Revised papers. - Trollhättan : Högskolan Väst. - 9789187531026 ; , s. 165-183
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This paper aims to describe and analyse a sample of small enterprises located in a region undergoing structural change with focus on entrepreneurship and e-government and is a further development of a previous study that focused on how municipalities supported entrepreneurship and destination development. In this study the focus is extended to include small enterprises contributing to development of tourist destinations within the same region. In-depth qualitative interviews were made with twelve managers from ten small enterprises. Based on a theoretical discussion of entrepreneurship, e-government and regional development, the results indicate that networks and strategic networking were important for these small enterprises both in terms of developing the enterprise but also to develop entrepreneurship for regional development. The findings further indicate that municipal information, communication and competence development in order to support entrepreneurship and the development of small enterprises could be improved. The importance of face-to-face contacts was stressed. The use of local e-government was hitherto limited to e-services for public procurement. The entrepreneurs who used the e-services had mainly positive experiences, although despite the complexity of the e-services. The respondents did not ask for more municipal e-services, but that could be a consequence of their limited experience of the potential of local e-government. The use of social media among the enterprises was limited due to lack of time, competence and motivation for most of the enterprises, although the potential of social media for marketing was seen as extensive. A few of the respondents were on the other hand very skilled in their use of digital media, as a consequence of their professional knowledge and business orientation.
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| 12. |
- Bernhard, Iréne, 1953-, et al.
(författare)
-
Automation of Digital Public Services : Challenges when Working with Automated Systems and Striving for Inclusion of End-Users
- 2019
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Ingår i: Uddevalla Symposium 2019. - Trollhättan : University West. - 9789188847409 ; , s. 91-105
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- The increasing use of automated systems for decision making and decision supportin public administration is forming new practices and challenging public values. Automated decision-making systems are mainly used in administrative systems but require end-users of services to submit relevant data in correct ways to make the services functional. However, not all potential or intended users of these services have the competence and capacity to use them. There is a pressing need to uncover and analyze how professional staff at public agencies respond to users' problems caused by digitalization in general and automation in particular for those who have problems using the services since there is a legal requirement to provide impartial public services. The case study presented in this paper builds on a bottom-up qualitative study including in-depth interviews and observations at two Swedish authorities, the Swedish Public Employment Agency and the Swedish Social Insurance Agency, in two Swedish municipalities. The main contribution by the case study shows how challenges that the professional staff face when they have to support everyone when the main management method is to use automated systems. The first way of addressing risk of exclusion is improved personalized support by the professional "street-level" bureaucrats, and the second is the important support also provided by other citizens and users of the services that enhances inclusion. The study indicates the importance of forming new support structures when public services are digitalized with ambitions to be more efficient.
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| 13. |
- Bernhard, Iréne, 1953-, et al.
(författare)
-
Bringing all clients into the system : Professional digital discretion to enhance inclusion when services are automated
- 2022
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Ingår i: Information Polity. - : IOS Press. - 1570-1255 .- 1875-8754. ; 27:3, s. 373-389
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The increasing use of automated systems for decision-making and decision support in public administration is forming new practices and challenging public values since public services must be impartially accessible and designed for everyone. New robotistic process automation (RPA) systems are generally designed based on back-office structures. This requires clients to submit relevant data correctly in order for these services to function. However, not all potential or intended users of these services have the competence and the capacity to submit accurate data in the correct way. Front-line case workers at public agencies play critical roles in supporting those who have problems using the services due to the a forementioned accessibility requirements and there by work in bridging digital divides. This article analyses strategies used by front-line case workers to complement RPA and improve the inclusion of all clients in the services. It builds on qualitative case studies at two Swedish authorities, including in-depth interviews and observations. The study shows that the discretion of the front-line case workers is limited by the RPA systems, and they also have limited discretion to support clients in their use of the digital services. Instead, they develop strategies in line with more service- and socially-oriented values; duty-oriented values are integrated into the RPA. The analysis shows the importance of forming new support structures for inclusion when public services are automated to maintain the core public values of inclusion and democratic legitimacy.
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| 14. |
- Bernhard, Irene, 1953-, et al.
(författare)
-
Challenging Organizational Issues When Municipal Contact Centers are Implemented in Sweden
- 2013
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Ingår i: Electronic Journal of e-Government. - 1479-439X. ; 11:2, s. 198-209
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Two case studies of the implementation of Contact Centres(CCs) in Swedish municipalities were compared and discussed from anorganizational perspective. The research method was semi-structured qualitative interviews with different personnel categories in both municipalities. Several challenging organizational issues for management and employees were identified:the implementation strategies varied among the cases and affected the pace of implementation, attitudes and motivation, the mental construct and understanding of the implementation. The financing of the CC and recruitment strategies created problems, but in somewhat different ways and in phases of the process in each case. The potential of using registered information as asource for planning and decision-making was not fully utilized, although somestatistics were produced. In both cases there was a combination of formal andinformal learning strategies and flexible co-operation among the employees inthe CCs which contributed to continuous learning processes and a good,co-operative working climate. There was a need for continuous updating ofskills in both cases, but with slightly different focus, related to theorganization of the work. The organization in response groups required morespecialist competence, compared with the organization without response groups,which required more general competence. Some challenges for the caseadministrators in the back offices were to adapt to a more process-oriented organizationof their work, and to co-operate more with their colleagues both in the backoffice and at the CC. They now had the possibility to plan their administrativework in a better way than before, but some administrators missed the previousspontaneous contacts with citizens. Initially, many case administrators wereafraid of losing their jobs and work tasks to CC, contributing to negativeattitudes towards CC and hampering the learning process in taking part in theimplementation process.
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| 15. |
- Bernhard, Iréne, 1953-, et al.
(författare)
-
Collaboration Model for Work-Integrated Learning in Higher Education 3rd Cycle
- 2018
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Ingår i: INTED 2018. - : INTED. - 9788469794807 ; , s. 5509-5515
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Universities need to constantly accommodate new forms of collaboration with society. Interaction with and impacts on society and practice are of crucial importance. University West (UW) in Sweden has a profile area in work-integrated learning (WIL), which generally aims to address issues on integrating theory and practice in a coherent and sustainable way. In this paper we base our arguments on a research education (3rd cycle) in informatics with specialization in work-integrated learning. The aim with the paper is to evaluate UW’s research education and research environment from a WIL perspective. We will adopt an informing science model in order to conduct a current state analysis, in which we identify and visualize collaboration activities within and between the research education/environment and the UWs key stakeholders; society/practices, research community and PhD students. Concrete implications show how collaboration and informing flows are connected and how they can be improved. General reflections are given on the model as a useful means for quality development and assurance beyond learning outcomes, including aspects of collaboration and interaction that can be regarded as paths of societal and practical impacts.
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| 16. |
- Bernhard, Iréne, 1953-, et al.
(författare)
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Conceptualizing University-Society Collaboration : A Literature Review Focusing on Drivers of Collaboration
- 2018
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Ingår i: ICERI2018 Proceedings. - : IATED. - 9788409059485 ; , s. 9036-9042
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Collaboration and learning are vital for development in all sectors of society and there is a constant need for new ideas, innovation and development. Crucial for dealing with contemporary complex challenges on a local, regional, national and global scale is a need for the inclusion of many perspectives and competences. However, collaboration is never friction free but challenging. A reason for this might be that there are different expectations on goals and outcomes due to that collaborating organizations bring different contexts, Inter-organisational collaborations, cultures, traditions etc. These challenges are addressed by several approaches for university-society collaboration, e.g. Work-Integrated Learning (WIL), University-Industry-Government (Triple-helix), University Community Partnership (UCP), and Public Private Academic Partnership (PPAP). These are all aiming at planning, performing, compiling and leveraging knowledge exchange and co-creating sustainable results. What is less developed is what genuine impact such results do have on society, i.e. societal impacts. Thus, there is a need for gaining more knowledge in research about what key mechanisms that constitutes successful collaboration between academia and various public and private organizations in research projects.This conceptual paper explores the underlying concepts of principles that are used as guidelines for successful university-society collaboration. It draws on a literature review of key concepts selected from established frameworks and models that are current in the field of university-society collaboration, e.g. co-creation, trust, relationship building. The aim of the paper is to gain deeper insights in the complex dynamics of research collaboration by combining previous models with current research literature and suggest implications for both model development as well as principles of conduct when societal impact are to be ensured in university-society collaboration. Hence, the research questions to be addressed in this paper are: What are the key concepts that underlie the dynamics of university-society collaboration in the research literature? How can successful university-society collaboration be conceptualized in order to facilitate co-creation and societal impact?
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| 17. |
- Bernhard, Iréne, 1953-, et al.
(författare)
-
Degree of Digitalization and Citizen Satisfaction : A Study of the Role of Local e-Government in Sweden
- 2018
-
Ingår i: Electronic Journal of e-Government. - : Academic Conferences and Publishing International Limited. - 1479-439X. ; 16, s. 59-71
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The aim was to investigate whether there is a relationship between degree of e-government in Swedish municipalities and perceived satisfaction among citizens generally. This is a large-scale quantitative study based on validand reliable Swedish national surveys. Based on these surveys, a new comprehensive index for measuring "degree of digitalization" was constructed. Citizen satisfaction was measured using established indices covering three dimensions:satisfaction with living in the municipality, satisfaction with performance of government activities (delivered services), and satisfaction with transparency and influence. The results show that there is a relationship between the degree of digitalization in a municipality and the perceived satisfaction among its citizens. The degree of digitalization is related to all three dimensions of citizen satisfaction. Additionally, this study indicates that the strength of this relationship is in parity with or even stronger than the relationship between citizen satisfaction and other crucial factors such as educational level and median income
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| 18. |
- Bernhard, Irene, 1953-
(författare)
-
E-government and E-governance : Local Implementation of E-government Polices in Sweden
- 2014
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- It is recognized in international research that the public sector has been transformed into a networked, open and more flexible, informal and interactive governance structure. This is described as a transition from “government to governance”. Sweden is one of the international leaders with regards to e-government development. The objective of this thesis is to provide a deeper understanding of how e-government policies are implemented in an e-governance context, through empirical case studies in Sweden. The focus is on the local level. The overall research question is: How is e-government policy put into practice when focusing on the local level? This is reported in four articles.Case study methodology is used as research method, including interviews, focus group interviews, document studies, and some participatory observations. The analysis is partly based on an inductive methodological approach, since this is a new, emerging field of innovative policy and practice.The analysis arrives at three overarching conclusions: (1) In practice, when e-government policy is implemented and translated at the local level, it tends to happen in an e-governance setting conducted by policy entrepreneurs or promoted by entrepreneurial behaviour in public administration. E-government policies are implemented in relation to local cultures, norms and economic structures. (2) Implementation of e-government and e-governance initiatives requires trust in the service provision among public administrators as well as among citizens. Efficiency and citizen-centred approaches in the redesign of information relationships between public administration and citizens to create some sort of added value are crucial. (3) The thesis indicates that there are two main implications of municipal contact centres (CCs): they localize public services and they combine different services into a one-stop practice striving to provide “holistic” services to the individual citizen. However, although the use of ICT is essential for the organisational transformation, the results indicate that the organisational settings and internal anchoring are greater constraints than new technology for implementation of local e-government and e-governance initiatives in the form of contact centres. One example for potential added value is the source of information of citizens’ issues through the implementation of municipal contact centres, which may have a positive impact on the conditions for local planning.
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| 19. |
- Bernhard, Iréne, 1953-
(författare)
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Editorial
- 2016
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Ingår i: International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business. - 1476-1297 .- 1741-8054. ; 29:2, s. 149-153
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Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)
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| 20. |
- Bernhard, Irene, 1953-, et al.
(författare)
-
Editorial
- 2014
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Ingår i: International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business. - 1476-1297 .- 1741-8054. ; 21:3, s. 269-274
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Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)
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