This paper aims to take an institutional approach to the analysis of organisational‐level challenges of information systems (IS) innovation in public organisations. It seeks to answer the question: how can the challenges of IS innovation in public organisations, presented by the interactions between IT and public bureaucracy, be explained and addressed?
The paper is an empirical study approached with an interpretive philosophy that influenced the gathering of qualitative evidence.
The analysis reveals the institutional tensions between the low‐entrepreneurial ethos of public organisations and the efficiency principle of information technology (IT).
Public bureaucracy should be adjusted by de‐institutionalising its variable characteristics such as standardised and centralised employee roles and information. Information technology should be adjusted by restraining commitments to and expectations in public organisations.
The paper argues that the primary principle of IS innovation should be institutional adjustments of public bureaucracy and information technology. It informs e‐government policy makers to think primarily about the institutional relations between IT and public bureaucracy.
