Paper Number
ECIS2026-2278
Paper Type
CRP
Abstract
Governments increasingly promote digital self-services to streamline administration and enhance accessibility. Yet, digitalization can unintentionally create new difficulties for citizens, particularly those already facing social or economic vulnerability. Drawing on administrative burden theory, this paper examines how digital government initiatives, while formally designed to reduce friction and costs, can generate burdens in practice. Based on qualitative data collection with citizens and public officials in Norway (2021–2025), we analyze how such burdens are constructed in the digital self-service for financial assistance. The study shows that these burdens arise not merely from citizens limited digital skills or technical flaws but through formal and informal, intentional and unintentional practices embedded in organizational routines, technological design, and social interactions. By re-vealing these socio-technical dynamics, the paper highlights the social sustainability implications of digital government, showing how strategies aimed at efficiency can inadvertently undermine inclu-sion and reinforce administrative burdens for vulnerable citizens.
Recommended Citation
Heggertveit, Ida and Hofmann, Sara, "From Design To Distress: How Digital Government Creates Administrative Burdens" (2026). ECIS 2026 Proceedings. 13.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/ecis2026/govtrans/govtrans/13
From Design To Distress: How Digital Government Creates Administrative Burdens
Governments increasingly promote digital self-services to streamline administration and enhance accessibility. Yet, digitalization can unintentionally create new difficulties for citizens, particularly those already facing social or economic vulnerability. Drawing on administrative burden theory, this paper examines how digital government initiatives, while formally designed to reduce friction and costs, can generate burdens in practice. Based on qualitative data collection with citizens and public officials in Norway (2021–2025), we analyze how such burdens are constructed in the digital self-service for financial assistance. The study shows that these burdens arise not merely from citizens limited digital skills or technical flaws but through formal and informal, intentional and unintentional practices embedded in organizational routines, technological design, and social interactions. By re-vealing these socio-technical dynamics, the paper highlights the social sustainability implications of digital government, showing how strategies aimed at efficiency can inadvertently undermine inclu-sion and reinforce administrative burdens for vulnerable citizens.
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