Closeness and distance: configurational practices for digital ambidexterity in the public sector

Purpose The purpose of this study is to increase the current understanding of how public sector organizations dynamically balance exploration and exploitation of digital initiatives, i.e. the enactment of digital ambidexterity. Design/methodology/approach This study uses Zimmermann, Raisch and Cardinal’s perspective of configurational practices for addressing the enactment of digital ambidexterity. The method comprises a qualitative, interpretative case study of a large municipality in Sweden, using both interviews and secondary data. Findings Through the perspective of configurational practices, the study identifies and describes a set of sub-practices that constitute the enactment of digital ambidexterity. This is then used for theorizing how configurational practices involve the balancing of closeness and distance. Research limitations/implications This study is limited by being a single, non-longitudinal case of a Swedish municipality that has implications for generalizability and transferability. Moreover, it opens up for new perspectives to the future study of the enactment of ambidexterity in the public sector. Practical implications Organizations striving for digital ambidexterity are recommended to use the configurational approach to assess and design their governance to build ambidextrous capabilities through a combination of closeness and distance. Social implications This study is aimed at strengthening public sectors abilities for continued relevance for its stakeholders over time. With increased need for digital innovation within the public sector, the findings and recommendations derived from the study lead to increased innovation capability, which in turn is expected to lead to increased relevance of services. Originality/value To the best of authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that addresses how ambidexterity is enacted within the public sector following the configurational approach. As such, it opens up for new perspectives on organizational ambidexterity.

Assessing trends in rat populations in urban and non-urban environments in the Netherlands

Rats in urban areas pose health risks as they can transmit various zoonotic pathogens. Monitoring rat populations in urban areas is therefore a key determinant in risk assessments for taking adequate control and preventive measures. However, large-scale and long-term monitoring of rat populations is labor-intensive and time consuming. The aim of this study was to develop a low-cost and low-time- consuming method to gain insight into the trends of rat populations in urban and non-urban environments in the Netherlands, and to identify potential drivers of these trends. From 2014 to 2018, local municipalities or their pest control organizations voluntarily submitted quarterly overviews of rat nuisance reports in urban areas. For non-urban areas, a nationwide record of reported bycatch species from the muskrat control was used to assess a potential trend. To identify potential drivers of observed trends, employees of nine municipalities were interviewed. Rat nuisance reports from 25 municipalities were analyzed. An increasing trend in rat nuisance reports was observed in 12, a decreasing trend in 3 and no trend in 10 municipalities. In non-urban areas, no trend in the bycatch of rats was detected. The increase in rat nuisance reports was associated with a large municipality resident size. No consistent drivers could be identified, but potential drivers were discussed in the interviews. Although it was not possible to quantify their influence on the rat population trends seen, they provide direction for future studies on drivers of rat populations.

Gentrification, revitalization and children raising. Family gentrifiers in a post-socialist city

The aim of the article is to provide a case study of a post-industrial, post-socialist city analyzing gentrification processes in their initial phase within the context of a large municipality-led revitalization program with focus on experiences of family gentrifiers. Inspired by Robert A. Beauregard’s framework (1986), the analysis concentrates on ‘the potentially gentrifiable neighborhoods’, ‘the potentially gentrified’, ‘the facilitators and active agents of gentrification’, and ‘the potential gentry themselves’. The empirical part of the text is based on qualitative study, that is, selected interviews collected within a research project on gentrifiers in the process of social revitalization, conducted in the city of Lodz (central Poland).

An integer programming approach to a real-world recyclable waste collection problem in Argentina

This article reports on the use of mathematical programming techniques to optimise the routes of a recyclable waste collection system servicing Morón, a large municipality outside Buenos Aires, Argentina. The truck routing problem posed by the system is a particular case of the generalised directed open rural postman problem. An integer programming model is developed with a solving procedure built around a subtour-merging algorithm and the addition of subtour elimination constraints. The route solutions generated by the proposed methodology perform significantly better than the previously used, manually designed routes, the main improvement being that coverage of blocks within the municipality with the model solutions is 100% by construction, whereas with the manual routes as much as 16% of the blocks went unserviced. The model-generated routes were adopted by the municipality in 2014 and the national government is planning to introduce the methodology elsewhere in the country.

Social capital and health and job related outcomes: the case of a large municipality

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between workplace social capital and health and job related outcomes in a large Danish municipality. Design/methodology/approach – Data used in this cross-sectional study are based on an electronic employee survey conducted in 2012 in a large municipality. Of the total population of 5,672 individuals, the number of participants amounted to 4,162, leading to a response rate of 73.4 percent. Binary logistic regression analysis is used as a statistical method, and odds ratios and their corresponding 95 percent confidence intervals have been estimated. Findings – The level of social capital is fairly high in the municipality (3.75 on a five-point scale). Social capital is related to health (OR=0.420) and psychological distress (OR=0.282) but has an even stronger relationship to job satisfaction and commitment (OR is 9.889 and 7.800, respectively). The study contributes with the conclusion that different sub-dimensions of social capital are related to health and job related outcomes. Therefore, managers need to be specific about what exactly they want to achieve with the implementation of social capital in municipalities. Originality/value – Research of the relationship between social capital and health and job related outcomes based on a case study approach of a municipality are limited. This paper makes an original contribution in providing evidence of the importance of social capital for Danish municipal sector employees’ health, job satisfaction, and commitment in a work context.

Assessing the effectiveness of financial compensation, promotional opportunities and workplace spirituality as employee motivational factors

This study aims to determine whether employees are motivated to a greater extent by monetary (financial compensation) or non-monetary (promotion opportunities, workplace spirituality) incentives and, to assess whether biographical influences exist in this regard. The study was undertaken in a large municipality department in eThekweni (Durban), South Africa. A sample of 108 participants was drawn using the cluster sampling technique. In this quantitative, cross-sectional, hypothesis-testing methodology, data was collected using a questionnaire whose psychometric properties of validity and reliability were statistically assessed using Factor Analysis and Cronbach’s Coefficient Alpha. Data was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The results indicate that financial compensation is the main motivating factor for employees in the organisation, followed by workplace spirituality and lastly, promotional opportunities. It is evident that the elements of workplace spirituality have not yet been embraced by this public sector institution and, unhappiness exists with regards to perceptions of unfair and inconsistent implementation of promotional opportunities which are not linked to performance. Biographical influences of gender on financial compensation and, tenure and marital status on promotional opportunities respectively were noted. Recommendations are presented, which when carefully implemented, has the potential to bring about enhanced employee motivation in the organisation.

Factors associated with lack of prenatal care in a large municipality

OBJECTIVE To analyze the factors associated with a lack of prenatal care in a large municipality in southern Brazil. METHODS In this case-control age-matched study, 716 women were evaluated; of these, 179 did not receive prenatal care and 537 received prenatal care (controls). These women were identified using the Sistema Nacional de Informação sobre Nascidos Vivos (Live Birth Information System) of Pelotas, RS, Southern Brazil, between 2009 and 2010. Multivariate analysis was performed using conditional logistic regression to estimate the odds ratios (OR). RESULTS In the final model, the variables associated with a lack of prenatal care were the level of education, particularly when it was lesser than four years [OR 4.46; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.92;10.36], being single (OR 3.61; 95%CI 1.85;7.04), and multiparity (OR 2.89; 95%CI 1.72;4.85). The prevalence of a lack of prenatal care among administrative regions varied between 0.7% and 3.9%. CONCLUSIONS The risk factors identified must be considered when planning actions for the inclusion of women in prenatal care by both the central management and healthcare teams. These indicated the municipal areas with greater deficits in prenatal care. The reorganization of the actions to identify women with risk factors in the community can be considered to be a starting point of this process. In addition, the integration of the activities of local programs that target the mother and child is essential to constantly identify pregnant women without prenatal care.

The story of a knowledge-based and learning organization

Knowledge is generally viewed as one of the most important organizational resources, and this view is also held in relation to municipal elderly-care organizations. However, the concept of a knowledge-based organization has seldom been addressed in elderly-care research. The aim of the present study was to analyse how political and professional groups involved in elderly care conceive of the idea of a knowledge-based organization, and how these conceptions relate to their expectations in relation to the future of elderly care. This issue is important because these conceptions are intertwined with actions conducted by organizational members. Participants were selected for the study on the basis of organizational level and engagement in the development of different kinds of care in an elderly-care organization in a large municipality. A narrative approach was used for data analysis. The study indicates that the interpretations of a knowledge-based organization bring stability and meaning to participants by linking elderly care, as it is in the present, to an image of its future. Furthermore, the narratives are adjusted depending on what kind of problems that organization is expected to solve. However, the participants do not view the economic resources of the organization as something they can influence and develop, in either the present or the future. The study also shows that there are multiple perspectives in regard to the meaning of a knowledge-based organization and, accordingly, multiple perspectives on what will need to be done in the future. This is a potential problem for elderly care because it can hinder the coordination of organizational activities and the ability to handle the challenges of the future. Therefore the results point to the importance of creating within the organization a shared meaning of its main problems, and to the contribution a knowledge-based organization can make in solving these problems.

Can the municipalities prevent medication of lifestyle related diseases?

In extension of a large municipality reform in 2007, which reduced the number of Danish municipalities from 275 to 98, it was the intention that the municipalities should assume responsibility for a part of the expenditure connected to secondary sector health care treatment. Furthermore, the municipalities were assigned the responsibility for – and equipped with a number of opportunities for – exerting primary preventive initiatives. The purpose of the present study is to investigate, whether the municipalities by applying these opportunities have been able to prevent medication of selected lifestyle related diseases (type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and asthma and chronically obstructive lung disease). Though our results initially seem to support this, a closer investigation indicates that the relationship between municipal preventive initiatives and medication is a structural, intra-municipal relationship rather than a cause-response effect.