Dissecting the Interplay Between Elected Members and Officials in Board Level Technology Decisions: the case of a local authority in England

Digital investment and the successful selection and implementation of technology is crucial to local government success and yet there is a dearth of research evaluating how these decisions are made. And yet there is a dearth of research evaluating how Boards and executives of all kinds make these decisions and the role they play in influencing asset deployment in the digital space. In this regard, government, and especially local government is not only sparsely investigated as part of the existing body of knowledge but does not function neatly when compared to commercial organizations and the profit motive. This paper addresses the shortfall by investigating the interplay between elected members and Boards of local government in terms of complex decision-making processes surrounding technology investment. Empirically, this research adopts a case study approach and qualitative questioning of key elected and appointed actors allowing us to dissect the phenomenon.