To resist, or not to resist, that is the question: on the status quo bias of public sector employees when dealing with technology

Abstract

Technological innovations and new ways of working became the daily routine in German administrations at the municipal, the state and the federal level. Technology use among their employees is an essential aspect of mastering the digital transformation in the public sector. The employees’ status quo bias, however, profoundly influences their perception and behaviour in technology-related settings. The critical role of cognitive biases is recognised in many disciplines, including sociology, psychology, and marketing. Against this background, the objective of our work is to expand existing acceptance models with the aspect of bounded rationality and apply them to employees in the public sector. This allows us to gain theoretical insights concerning the resistance of using technology in this domain. As technology becomes ever more ubiquitous in times of the coronavirus pandemic, and as the performance and well-being of public sector employees is more and more important to the administrative board members, including the status quo bias perspective when dealing with technology use presents increasing theoretical and practical importance.