Open data in Swedish municipalities? : Value creation and innovation in local public sector organizations

Abstract: Digital transformation is highlighted as a way of solving many of the problems and challenges that the public sector faces in terms of cost developments and increased demands for better public services. Open data is a strategic resource that is necessary for this development to takeplace and the municipal sector collects information that could be published to create value inmany stages. Previous research believes that economic value is generated through new innovative services and productivity gains, but also social values such as increased civic participation and transparency. But despite previous attempts to stimulate open data, Sweden is far behind comparable countries and there is a lack of research that looks at exactly how these economic values should be captured. To investigate why this is the case and what role open datahas in value creation in the municipal sector, this study has identified several themes through qualitative interviews with an inductive approach. The study resulted in a deeper theoretical analysis of open data and its properties. By considering it as a public good, it is possible to use several explanatory models to explain its slow spread and but also understand the difficult conditions for value capture which results in incentive problems. In addition, there are structural problems linked to legislation and infrastructure that hamper the dissemination of open data and its value-creating role in the municipal sector.