For several years now, Materna has been supporting the commitment of young professionals in public administration through its Graduate Award. This is because the public sector is one of our most important markets, in which we are driving forward digitalisation. This year, we received even more theses than in previous years. From the master’s and bachelor’s theses submitted, the jury selected three outstanding candidates who had addressed digitalisation in public administration – or a particularly innovative topic – in a creative way.

At the awards ceremony at the end of March 2023, held as part of the Berlin User Days, the winners were delighted to receive generous prize money of up to 3,000 euros. The winners of this year’s Graduate Award focused on the organisational culture of local authorities, the factors influencing technology adoption among local decision-makers, and knowledge integration in public administration.

1st place: The impact of digitalisation on the organisational culture of local authorities

First place, with a prize of 3,000 euros, went to Stephan Jarvers for his Master’s thesis on the Business Consulting and Digital Management programme at the FOM University of Applied Sciences for Economics & Management in Münster. In a thesis of around 500 pages, he examined public administration in the context of the tension between modern agility and Weberian bureaucracy (the organisational model developed by sociologist Max Weber). Through a detailed analysis and clear explanations, Stephan Jarvers highlighted the impact of digitalisation on the organisational structure of local government.

2nd place: Analysis of technology adoption factors in local authorities

Noel Kretz, who completed his Master of Science in Economic and Social Sciences at the University of Hohenheim, investigated which factors determine the adoption of new technologies in local authorities. The behavioural perspective and support during implementation play a key role in this regard. He personally interviewed around 100 decision-makers, such as mayors, department heads and agency directors. He used Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) as the methodology for his analysis. Second place in the Graduate Award came with prize money of 2,000 euros.

Third place: Knowledge integration in public administration

Jessica Seemann addresses a research gap in a highly complex field with her Master’s thesis on the current state of knowledge integration and, in particular, effectuation. The economist’s work demonstrates the positive influence that highly developed dynamic capabilities within local public administration have on the effectuative behaviour of staff. The analysis of questionnaires completed by 178 participants provides a solid foundation; furthermore, the thesis contains implications for the future and a wealth of valuable information. The thesis took third place in the Graduate Award, with prize money of 1,000 euros.

We are delighted to have once again been able to recognise three outstanding theses and would like to express our sincere thanks once more to everyone who took an interest in the Graduate Award competition and submitted their theses.