Digital governance: A conceptual framework and research agenda

TLDR

The rapid expansion of digital technologies has enabled new forms of organization through increased data and knowledge exchange, yet it creates significant challenges for designing effective governance mechanisms. This paper emphasizes the essential role of digital governance in supporting digitally enabled exchange relationships. The authors introduce a typology of analog, augmented, and automated governance modes, each linked to specific control, coordination, incentive, and trust mechanisms, and offer a heuristic that selects the optimal mode based on transactivity and governance costs. The study establishes digital governance as a distinct concept, delineates its core mechanisms and decision criteria, and outlines future research directions.

Abstract

The rapid expansion of digital technologies has paved the way for new forms of organizing, facilitated by increased data and knowledge exchange between individuals and organizations. However, this poses major new challenges for designing effective governance mechanisms. This paper highlights the critical role of digital governance in facilitating digitally enabled exchange relationships. To this end, we propose a typology of analog, augmented, and automated governance modes, each associated with specific control, coordination, incentive, and trust mechanisms. Additionally, we provide a heuristic for determining the optimal governance choice via the interplay of transactivity (i.e., the contributors, connections, and consistency in an exchange network) and corresponding governance costs. Our study advances the governance literature by defining digital governance as a distinct form and outlining key governance mechanisms and choices in the digital era. Finally, we identify avenues for future research in this field.