Paper Type
Complete
Abstract
This study examines how infrastructural fragility in digital public service systems creates exclusionary outcomes, focusing on India’s Public Distribution System (PDS). Drawing on qualitative analysis of open-ended survey responses from 176 fair price shop salespersons in Chhattisgarh, we find that frequent technical failures—such as connectivity issues and authentication breakdowns—disproportionately burden vulnerable groups, including the elderly and disabled. These frontline intermediaries not only witness but actively interpret and mediate the social consequences of infrastructural breakdowns, which in turn undermine the perceived legitimacy and fairness of digital governance initiatives. Our findings advance information systems theory by foregrounding infrastructural fragility, rather than user attitudes or adoption, as a central mechanism of digital exclusion. We further highlight the critical role of intermediaries’ sensemaking and peer influence in shaping perceptions of exclusion and system legitimacy. The study calls for resilient infrastructures and participatory feedback to improve digital public service delivery.
Paper Number
1212
Recommended Citation
Witt, Christine M.; Rajan, Dr. Prashant; Chopra, Dr. Shweta; Mercurio, Kathryn Ruth; Huang, Xuemei; and Chhabra, Varun, "Fragile Infrastructures and Exclusionary Outcomes: How Frontline Intermediaries Mediate Legitimacy in Digital Public Service Systems" (2026). AMCIS 2026 Proceedings. 2.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/amcis2026/sig_globdev/sig_globdev/2
Fragile Infrastructures and Exclusionary Outcomes: How Frontline Intermediaries Mediate Legitimacy in Digital Public Service Systems
This study examines how infrastructural fragility in digital public service systems creates exclusionary outcomes, focusing on India’s Public Distribution System (PDS). Drawing on qualitative analysis of open-ended survey responses from 176 fair price shop salespersons in Chhattisgarh, we find that frequent technical failures—such as connectivity issues and authentication breakdowns—disproportionately burden vulnerable groups, including the elderly and disabled. These frontline intermediaries not only witness but actively interpret and mediate the social consequences of infrastructural breakdowns, which in turn undermine the perceived legitimacy and fairness of digital governance initiatives. Our findings advance information systems theory by foregrounding infrastructural fragility, rather than user attitudes or adoption, as a central mechanism of digital exclusion. We further highlight the critical role of intermediaries’ sensemaking and peer influence in shaping perceptions of exclusion and system legitimacy. The study calls for resilient infrastructures and participatory feedback to improve digital public service delivery.
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