The challenges of digital transformation in the public sector/judiciary

How organizational framework conditions influence the appropriation of digital tools among employees in the Swiss judiciary.

Topic

This master's thesis examines how organizational framework conditions influence employees' adoption of digital tools in the Swiss judiciary. Although initiatives like Justitia 4.0 seek to modernize and digitize judicial processes through digital systems, the success of these transformations hinges on whether employees incorporate these tools into their daily work routines. Using socio-technical systems theory and organizational transformation research as a foundation, the study explores the impact of managerial support, employee involvement, and perceived freedom to act on the adoption of digital tools in highly structured judicial settings.

Relevance

Digital transformation is one of the biggest challenges currently facing public institutions and the judiciary. While simultaneously maintaining legal certainty, procedural consistency, and institutional legitimacy, courts are introducing electronic case management systems, digital communication tools, and new digital workflows. It is highly relevant for court administrators, policymakers, and transformation managers to understand which organizational conditions support the sustainable integration of digital tools. These findings offer practical insights into the effective implementation of digital reforms in complex, highly regulated public-sector environments.

Results

The findings revealed that perceived scope of action was the only organizational factor that significantly predicted digital adoption among Swiss judiciary employees. Employees who experienced greater autonomy and flexibility in adapting digital tools to their workflows reported higher levels of routine use of those tools. Although managerial support and employee participation exhibited positive bivariate correlations with digital appropriation, these relationships were not significant in the multivariate regression model. Overall, the results suggest that individual autonomy plays a central role in stabilizing digital practices within judicial work environments.

Implications for practitioners

• Give employees more autonomy when using and adapting digital tools in daily workflows.
• Design digital systems to be flexible rather than overly rigid.
• Encourage experimentation and local adaptation of digital tools within courts.
• Ensure participation formats enable meaningful influence over digital implementation processes.
• Focus leadership interventions on enabling employees' scope for action, rather than merely communicating support for digital change.

Methods

The study uses a quantitative, cross-sectional survey design based on socio-technical systems theory and organizational transformation research. Data were collected via an online questionnaire distributed to employees of cantonal courts across Switzerland through the Justiz Digital association and professional judicial networks. The final analytical sample included 109 participants from various Swiss cantons and judicial roles. The data were analyzed using R and descriptive statistics, reliability analysis, Pearson correlations, and multiple linear regression to examine the relationship between organizational framework conditions and digital appropriation.