AI introduction in public organisations with blended central-regional management structures: A study of AI introduction in the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration (NAV)

Abstract

This study investigates AI introduction in a public distributed organisation with blended regional and central management structures. The research aims to explore different perspectives within the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration (NAV). The public sector is in the early stages of using AI and are still trying to understand how to use it. There have been studies identifying factors specifically to AI adoption in the public sector, but they haven't taken into consideration the different perspectives and concerns a large organisation can hold. The data are gathered through semi-structured interviews with representatives from regional and central level in NAV. The data was then analysed using the Gioia method to sort it into themes. To introduce AI in a public distributed organisation we found that there are different perspectives to consider from a regional level and central level. Many themes are shared between the two levels, but some are only brought up by one or the other. Concerns around citizens were only brought up by actors on the regional level, while economic concerns and environmental conditions were only brought up by actors from the central level. The implication of this study is that you need to be aware of perspectives from the whole organisation when introducing AI.