Governance and Outcomes of Public Sector Digitalization: A Comparative Case Study of Digitalization Projects

Why do digitalization projects in the public sector fail at such high rate? Can governance provide an explanation? This article explores whether varying governance forms affect the outcomes of public digitalization projects. To address this research question, this study examines two polar digitalization projects implemented by the same digitalization lab in a Swiss canton. By investigating the context of a public digitalization lab, the study contributes to the limited empirical evidence on the effectiveness of new governing structures for digitalization. Through analysis of the interviews and internal documentation, the study finds that the successful project is characterized by well- designed and thoughtfully implemented governance. In contrast, the unsuccessful project lacks adequate governance structures in several critical areas. The study concludes that not only is the form of governance is decisive, but also the extent to which an organization and its projects actively engage with governance issues, selecting, implementing, and continuously evaluating governance appropriate to their specific context.