Modular Institutional Instrument (MII): A Focus Group Guide for Exploring Digital Transformation in Rural Municipalities

The Modular Institutional Instrument (MII) is a theory-informed focus group guide designed to explore the institutional dynamics of digital transformation in rural municipalities. Grounded in neo-institutional theory, the instrument operationalizes coercive, mimetic, and normative pressures as structuring elements of qualitative data generation, enabling the systematic examination of how local actors interpret and navigate digital transformation within complex governance contexts. The MII was developed through an Action Design Research process across six focus groups with practitioners from 25 municipalities in South Westphalia, Germany. The instrument is organized around three design principles — Theory-Driven Modularity, Reciprocal Translation, and Visual Mediation — and follows a five-phase sequence that produces complementary data forms such as semantic constructions, actor–pressure constellations, and accounts of structural institutional conditions. Visual boundary objects including actor maps, clustering exercises, and dot-voting intensity maps support collective sensemaking and structured reflection. Version 2.0 represents a consolidated iteration following field validation. The MII is released as an open methodological resource to support academic research, municipal reflection, and comparative studies across governance domains. This resource is intended to be cited when the instrument, its structure, or its facilitation logic informs empirical research.