Dynamic Capabilities and Technological Reconfiguration in the Public Sector: A Strategic Approach to Technology as a Critical Institutional Resource


Authors : Irllas Evelline de Carvalho Santos; Ana de Medeiros Fernandes dos Santos; Beatriz Bahia Gomes da Silva; Fábio André De Farias Vilhena; Felipe Gramonski dos Santos; José Wellgton do Nascimento; Paulo Roberto de Araujo; Priscila Freitas Araujo; Rafael Soares Cardoso; Tiago Luz De Oliveira

Volume/Issue : Volume 11 - 2026, Issue 2 - February


Google Scholar : https://tinyurl.com/2s5yua5k

Scribd : https://tinyurl.com/57uxjuyt

DOI : https://doi.org/10.38124/ijisrt/26feb831

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Abstract : Digital transformation has assumed a structuring role in the reorganization of the public sector, redefining administrative processes, governance models, and modes of service delivery. The incorporation of digital technologies has moved beyond mere instrumental modernization and now directly influences decision-making structures, operational flows, and patterns of institutional coordination. In this context, digitalization cannot be understood solely as technical adoption but rather as an organizational phenomenon shaped by institutional pressures, normative expectations, and regulatory arrangements inherent to public administration. Although the literature acknowledges the relevance of digital transformation in public management, the articulation between dynamic capabilities and the understanding of technology as a critical institutional resource remains underexplored, particularly when considering the structural specificities of the State. The existing gap lies in the absence of analytical integration between institutional tradition and strategic perspectives, as much of the literature treats digitalization either as a technical variable or as an isolated normative response, without examining the internal mechanisms that enable its organizational stabilization. Understanding technology as a critical institutional resource requires recognizing that its effectiveness depends on the organization’s capacity to mobilize, integrate, and reconfigure assets in response to complex environmental pressures. Against this backdrop, this article aims to analyze dynamic capabilities and technological reconfiguration in the public sector, considering technology as a critical institutional resource. To achieve this objective, a qualitative approach based on an integrative literature review was adopted, allowing for the systematization and interpretation of theoretical and empirical contributions that connect institutional arrangements, organizational resources, and digital transformation within public administration. The analysis led to the identification of four analytical categories—internal technological capability, administrative automation and operational reconfiguration, dynamic capabilities and institutional learning, and institutionalization of digital transformation and organizational legitimacy—which structure the phenomenon into interrelated dimensions. The findings indicate that technological transformation in the public sector emerges from the interaction between institutional pressures and internal strategic mechanisms, mediated by dynamic capabilities that enable structural reorganization and the consolidation of organizational legitimacy. It is concluded that technology acquires a structuring character when integrated into administrative routines and specific institutional arrangements, thereby constituting a critical institutional resource whose effectiveness depends on the articulation between governance, organizational structure, and regulatory context.

Keywords : Digital Transformation; Dynamic Capabilities; Institutional Pressures; Public Administration; Organizational Reconfiguration.

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Digital transformation has assumed a structuring role in the reorganization of the public sector, redefining administrative processes, governance models, and modes of service delivery. The incorporation of digital technologies has moved beyond mere instrumental modernization and now directly influences decision-making structures, operational flows, and patterns of institutional coordination. In this context, digitalization cannot be understood solely as technical adoption but rather as an organizational phenomenon shaped by institutional pressures, normative expectations, and regulatory arrangements inherent to public administration. Although the literature acknowledges the relevance of digital transformation in public management, the articulation between dynamic capabilities and the understanding of technology as a critical institutional resource remains underexplored, particularly when considering the structural specificities of the State. The existing gap lies in the absence of analytical integration between institutional tradition and strategic perspectives, as much of the literature treats digitalization either as a technical variable or as an isolated normative response, without examining the internal mechanisms that enable its organizational stabilization. Understanding technology as a critical institutional resource requires recognizing that its effectiveness depends on the organization’s capacity to mobilize, integrate, and reconfigure assets in response to complex environmental pressures. Against this backdrop, this article aims to analyze dynamic capabilities and technological reconfiguration in the public sector, considering technology as a critical institutional resource. To achieve this objective, a qualitative approach based on an integrative literature review was adopted, allowing for the systematization and interpretation of theoretical and empirical contributions that connect institutional arrangements, organizational resources, and digital transformation within public administration. The analysis led to the identification of four analytical categories—internal technological capability, administrative automation and operational reconfiguration, dynamic capabilities and institutional learning, and institutionalization of digital transformation and organizational legitimacy—which structure the phenomenon into interrelated dimensions. The findings indicate that technological transformation in the public sector emerges from the interaction between institutional pressures and internal strategic mechanisms, mediated by dynamic capabilities that enable structural reorganization and the consolidation of organizational legitimacy. It is concluded that technology acquires a structuring character when integrated into administrative routines and specific institutional arrangements, thereby constituting a critical institutional resource whose effectiveness depends on the articulation between governance, organizational structure, and regulatory context.

Keywords : Digital Transformation; Dynamic Capabilities; Institutional Pressures; Public Administration; Organizational Reconfiguration.

Paper Submission Last Date
31 - March - 2026

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