What Public Services are Suitable for Digitalization? - A Classification of Public Service Characteristics

Digital self-service solutions work well for a large variety of citizen-government interactions. However, empirical research illustrate that many citizens need support when using digital services and thus use other communication channels in parallel (e.g., telephone, chat, face-to-face meetings), especially for welfare benefits. Public organizations must therefore consider the total cost of digitalizing citizen-government interactions, including the support needed in multiple and parallel communication channels. In this paper, we contribute with new knowledge that can support such considerations. The aim is to develop knowledge on how public services can be characterized as to inform assessment of the suitability for digitalization and automation of a particular service. Our study is set in the Scandinavian context, and we use welfare benefits as our empirical example of public service. We build on previous research on public encounters and outline aspects that can be used to discuss different types of welfare benefits. These aspects are used to analyze four different welfare benefits, resulting in additional and inductively generated aspects. Last, we present criteria that can guide the assessment of digitalization suitability for a particular service. Our study contributes with empirical illustrations, theoretical development, and a deeper understanding of what makes some welfare benefits more suitable for digitalization and automation than others.