Public Services in Digital Transition: The Driving Force of Customer Experience

Digitalization has become an indispensable part of public services. Nevertheless, the digitalization of public services is proceeding slower than expected and public service providers still have a long way to go. It appears that in many organizations, digitalization is aimed at protecting citizens in the institutional context, not at the citizen’s experience as a customer of public services. A qualitative study, exploring the views of both public service professionals and their customers, examined the factors that underpin the digital transformation lag among public service providers in the Netherlands, zooming in on the role of the customer perspective in the digital transformation. Results show that while improving the customer experience is high on the agenda for most organizations, they lack a clear picture of what drives customers to use digital services and channels. The paper concludes with recommendations on which drivers can be leveraged by organizations for a successful digital transformation.