Research projects
In the digital transformation of public organizations, a central element is often overlooked: the employees who drive these change processes, are affected by them, or even block them. Digitalization may ease their workload, simplify the administrative process, and allow for more flexible working conditions, however, digitalization also can lead to the fear of redundancies, a lack of reskilling, technophobia, or even professional alienation as jobs begin to shift towards the digital era – leaving some behind.
An instrument that is used in practice more often in recent years to overcome resistance to digital change, is the role of change agents (and in our specific case so-called “Digitallotsen”). Change agents are individuals who take an active role in driving digitalization in large organizations also coined as digital agents or digital champions. Current research, however, examines digital champions as individuals in traditional roles of the Chief Information Officer, managers, and ICT experts mirroring the common top-down hierarchical nature of public sector organizations. This project challenges this understanding by incorporating the active roles of employees interested in driving the process from the ground up. Using theories of social support and learning from role models, we want to examine co-worker support (both availability and enacted support by the change agents) and its impact on change readiness and acceptance, digital literacy, self-efficacy, and public employees’ trust related to digitalization and their future workplace.
This research received funding from the European Academy of Management and the and Friedrich-Naumann-Foundation.
Health, healthcare and health protection do not end at national borders, as the COVID-19 pandemic has shown. Nevertheless, hospitals close to borders face the challenge of providing high-quality care with limited resources. This is where resource sharing becomes crucial.
Resource sharing encompasses a range of tools and strategies for coordinating and sharing resources within and between organizations. Organizations pool resources to reduce gaps between the resources available and the services required. In addition, resource sharing reduces waste as it is no longer necessary for organizations to stockpile supplies. By sharing resources, hospitals along the German-Dutch border can quickly access needed resources in the event of a sudden emergency. For patients, this means shorter distances and faster access to specialized care. For the region, it means healthier citizens and more resilient communities.
BRIDGE identifies opportunities for coordinated cross-border resource sharing, develops and implements a digital platform to support this process and provides impetus for relevant policy decisions.
BRIDGE is funded by Interreg Germany-Netherlands funded. Caroline Fischer was the initiator and head of the project at the University of Twente. Since moving to the University of Kassel, she has been an associated partner and external advisor to the project.