Digital Transformation in the Moroccan Public Sector: Drivers and Barriers

Abstract

Digital transformation (DT) in the public sector is an essential necessity and a strategic imperative for governments around the world due to the growing speed with which disruptive digital technologies are changing every aspect of society and life as a whole. Through digital transformation, organizations aim to redesign their processes, create new ways of working with stakeholders, and unleash new forms of interactions with citizens who are becoming better informed and continuously demanding for more efficiency and transparency. Digital transformation is thus one of the most promising trends of the last and current decades. However, despite the high expectations, digital transformation in the public sector is a topic that is still in its infancy as there is limited evidence on the ways governments and public organizations approach DT. The paper at hand aims to explore digital transformation within the Moroccan public sector and shed light on its current status. Our theoretical background is structured in three sections. After defining DT and determining its characteristics, we use the Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) Framework to study contextual drivers that influence digital technologies adoption in the public sector, and then review the different structural barriers to the implementation of digital transformation. This article is based on secondary data of digital transformation in the Moroccan public sector to highlight the drivers and obstacles of DT within the public sector and provide insights for future research.

Keywords: Digital Transformation, New Public Management, E-Government, Technology-Organization-Environment, Structural barriers