Development and Validation of a Digital Administrative Work Scale

Abstract

For successful digitalization of the public sector, insights into how digitalization affects the work of public sector employees must be attained.Hence, integrative conceptual models and metrics of digital work are needed. A five-dimensional model describing the degree of digitalization ofadministrative action (Kaesmayr, Schorn & Steidle 2021) provides the point of departure for this paper. To enable actual measurement, thedevelopment and validation of a corresponding questionnaire is presented. Its development includes the item formulation by specifying attributes,raters and objects of the underlying constructs as well as the formation of indices by means of a contrast weighting specifically augmented forthis type of work. The validation of the scale includes component as well as confirmatory factor analyses based on data from 519 administrativeemployees in Germany. The scale provides the opportunity to describe and evaluate the degree of digitalization of administrative procedures andto evaluate measures to improve digital case processing. Furthermore, it enables research into conditions and consequences for a successfuldigital transformation. However, further research is required to verify the predictive validity and practical benefits of the scale.