Purpose: This study aims to examine and illustrate the landscape of citizens’ roles in digital government maturity models (DGMM) based on public value positions. It seeks to answer: How are citizens’ roles conceptualized and integrated into DGMM?  Design/methodology/approach:This study uses an interpretive qualitative content analysis. This study examined 18 DGMMs, analysing both their explicit and implicit representations of citizens. Using Distel and Lindgren’s (2023) extended e-government value position framework as a theoretical lens, the authors positioned the role of citizens within these models. Findings:The study reveals that DGMMs vary in how they view citizens’ roles. While all four value ideals acknowledge citizens, models emphasizing efficiency and professionalism tend to regard them as passive participants, whereas service and engagement ideals promote more active and participatory roles. Research limitations/implications: The analysis examines 18 DGMMs. While diverse, it may not reflect all emerging models or regional variations. Citizen role interpretation involves some subjectivity, despite collaborative efforts for consistency. Practical implications:The findings provide a framework for understanding citizens’ roles through different value positions, supporting the public sector in strengthening its citizen focus. Social implications:The study offers insights for national and local levels on including citizens in digital transformation, contributing to greater awareness of their diverse roles in digital government maturity. Originality/value:This study presents a novel synthesis of citizens’ roles within the extended public value framework, opening new avenues for research and policy development.

This study explores officials' perspectives on Swedish policies for rural digital transformation (RDT). Through the lens of Social Acceleration and systems thinking, employing Critical Systems Heuristics collecting empirical data, we explore how officials perceive that Swedish digitalisation policies impacts inclusive RDT. We investigate whether the possibility to implement Swedish digitalisation policies support or hinder inclusive RDT. Our results emphasize the importance of Social Acceleration based on the aspirations of rural residents, encompassing technical acceleration, social change, and the pace of life. The rapid societal acceleration driven by digitalisation impacts the implementation of digital services in rural areas. Policies do not address the needs of tailored digital services; officials strive to manage this through creative methods despite inherent challenges.

The chapter provides a walkthrough of Living Labs, starting with the origin, what Living Labs are all about, and different types of Living Labs. The chapter also contains the key components, the key principles as well as key stakeholders and roles important for successful Living Labs. It continues with descriptions of how to implement and carry out Living Labs, ranging from the innovations to be experimented with, the physical setting, governance, and management to the ICT-infrastructure. Next follows how to involve and engage users, partners, and stakeholders. The chapter ends with a description of the FormIoT process, a structured method for research and innovation in real-life settings.

We propose that technological, service-dominant and design logics must interplay for an IT artefact to succeed. Based on data from a project aiming at a B2B platform for manufacturing small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Europe, we explore these three logics in an agile software design context. By using an inductive approach, we theorise about what is needed for the alignment of the three logics. We contribute with a novel theoretical lens, the Framework for Adaptive Space. We offer insights into the importance of continuously reflecting on all three logics during the agile software design process to ensure mutual understanding among the agile team and the B2B platform end-users involved

Living Labs have become a popular approach to facilitate multi-stakeholder engagement in open innovation processes in real-life settings. Despite their extensive application across various research fields, there is still a lack of theoretical understanding in this area. This study aims to take the first step towards developing a theory for Living Labs. In doing so, we will review the current state of the art of Living Lab theories as well as identify areas where further theoretical support is required. To achieve this, grounded theory will be used as the overarching approach to rigorously review literature. The outcome of this research will be a taxonomy of Living Lab theories, classified according to the emerged themes from grounded theory analysis. Additionally, the study will identify areas where Living Lab research needs to be theorized to support both researchers and practitioners in this area.

Digital transformation (DT) has received increasing attention in recent years. Despite this, most of the current studies focus on digital transformation in more advanced societies, particularly urban areas, and the concept has not been investigated enough within rural contexts. This study aims at exploring how a rural living lab (Rural LL) is shaped and how this approach can be designed to support digital transformation processes in rural context. In so doing, following a design science research methodology (DSRM), we have designed an artefact (i.e., Rural LL framework) which is an “instantiation” that supports user centric digitalization of rural areas. The designed framework is developed based on the key components of “traditional” and “urban” living labs, as well as empirical data which was collected within the context of the DigiBy project. The main constructs (key components) of this framework are: 1) rural context, 2) digitalization, 3) governance, control, and business mode, and 4) quintuple helix actors. We also offer an empirically derived definition of the rural living lab concept, followed by avenues for future research.

Digital transformation (DT) has received increasing attention in recent years. Up until now, most of the current studies focus on digital transformation in advanced and dense societies, especially urban areas and technologies. Hence, the phenomenon of DT is under-researched in the context of rural and sparsely populated contexts. This study aims at exploring how a rural living lab (RLL) can be shaped and how this approach can be designed to support digital transformation processes in rural contexts. In so doing, following a design science research methodology (DSRM) approach, we have made an artefact (that is, RLL framework) that is an “instantiation” that supports user centric digitalization of rural areas. The designed framework is developed based on the key components of “traditional” and “urban” living labs, as well as empirical data which was collected within the context of the DigiBy project. The DigiBy project aims at conducting DT pilots in rural areas to elevate peoples’ understanding of digitalization and the application of digitalization opportunities for service development in rural areas in the north of Sweden. As a result of these studies, five key components that guide the design of digital transformation pilots in rural areas emerged, namely: 1) rural context, 2) digitalization, 3) governance, control, and business mode, 4) methods facilitating DT processes, and 5) quintuple helix actors. We also offer an empirically derived definition of the rural living lab concept, followed by avenues for future research.