Influencing Factors and Strategic Archetypes of Citizen Development: A Systematic Literature Review

Citizen development (CD) is increasingly recognised as a promising approach to addressing the shortage of IT experts and empowering non-IT employees to drive digital innovations within organisations. This approach can enhance agility and responsiveness in today’s rapidly evolving business landscape. However, the adoption and management of CD within organisations present complexities that demand careful consideration of various influencing factors and their characteristics. Despite their significance, there is a notable knowledge gap regarding these factors and the strategic directions organisations adopt in real-world instantiations. In this paper, we conducted a systematic literature review and identified nine key factors that shape CD within organisations. Furthermore, we derived four strategic archetypes based on the analysis of these factors and recurring patterns found in conceptual and practical cases. The findings of this paper offer insights for researchers and practitioners, providing explanatory knowledge of CD instantiations and practical guidance for navigating CD adoption and management.