Coping with digital transformation in frontline public services: A study of user adaptation in policing
基于用户适应应对模型，研究巴基斯坦旁遮普地区292名警察在实施综合派出所记录管理系统后的应对策略，发现问题导向和情绪导向策略影响他们对系统绩效的看法，为数字化转型实施提供指导。
Research on digital transformation has focused on organizational aspects with less attention to the impacts on frontline public officials' daily work. Drawing on the coping model of user adaptation, we investigate how public officials cope with digitalization initiatives and the role of discretion in the coping process. The empirical study focuses on policing and the responses of law enforcement officials ( n = 292) in the Punjab region of Pakistan following the implementation of an integrated Police Station Record Management System (PSRMS). Police officers adopted diverse problem-focused and emotion-focused coping strategies. We examine the relationship between these user adaptation strategies and officers' perceptions of system outcomes in improving performance. The study extends coping theory in the context of frontline digital government interactions and offers guidance on how to better embed systems like the PSRMS in public officials' daily work. • Examines how frontline public officials cope with digital transformation initiatives. • Extends coping theory to understand public officials' behavioral responses. • Studies the integrated Police Station Record Management System in the Punjab region of Pakistan. • Digital discretion and sense of control shape the relationship between user adaptation and perceptions of system performance. • Advises on the implementation of digital transformation initiatives to mitigate user concerns.