Public Policy and Administration (Mar 2022)
Electronic leadership at local self-government: conceptual analysis and literature review
Abstract
E-government refers to the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) to improve functions and processes of the government and it is one of the most frequently researched topics. In current research, the use of ICT at the local self-government level is mostly associated with processes that take place between the organization and the citizens, i. e. e-services. Internal processes of public administration organizations, like administering and leading employees using ICT, have been insufficiently taken into account. However, it has so far received less attention, especially in the context of local self-government. Although first studies on this topic already exist in Lithuania, the systematic analysis of e-leadership concept and practice in municipal administrations is still lacking both in Lithuania and abroad. This study examines how e-leadership refers to e-government and what are features of e-leadership at local self-government that should be taken into account when considering leadership issues in the context of digitization at local self-government. The study has revealed that previous e-government dimensions are usually directed outwards, i. e. to the relations with citizens by providing them with e-services or general information, by participating them into the processes of public administration organizations. In difference to that, e-leadership represents a dimension of e-government that focuses on internal processes, i. e. human resource management in the public sector when digitalisation is taking place. During the COVID-19 pandemic period eleadership has become an integral part of public sector institutions, including local self-government. E-leadership at local self-government has already required and still requires new skills from municipal leaders and managers to ensure organizational processes, to move quickly and efficiently to new channels and platforms of communication, to adapt to new political, social and technological environments, to learn how to allocate more autonomy, responsibility and freedom to employees, and to manage the emotional and psychological difficulties of employees. The peculiarities of eleadership at local self-government result from the national legal framework, the institutional structure (based on the political-administrative duality), the purpose of public administration to promptly respond to local citizens’ expectations, and the pursuit of efficiency using limited organizational resources.
