DOI: 10.4018/IJEGR.2016100101 Copyright © 2016, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. International Journal of Electronic Government Research Volume 12 • Issue 4 • October-December 2016 Exploring Digitally Enabled Service Transformation in the Public Sector: Would Institutional and Structuration Theory Concepts Keep the Research Talking? Amizan Omar, Brunel Business School, Brunel University London, Uxbridge, UK Ramzi El-Haddadeh, College of Business and Economics, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar Vishanth Weerakkody, Brunel Business School, Brunel University London, Uxbridge, UK ABSTRACT Digitally Enabled Service Transformation (DEST) in the Public Sector (PS) offers a unique opportunity for public administration (PA) and information systems (IS) disciplines to interlace. Albeit complicating the deployment of a coherent analytical lens in its study, such uniqueness has formed a basis to enable a deviance in the theoretical selection. Interestingly, there has been a gradual move from the adoption of native PA/IS theories towards imported social sciences theories including Institutional and Structuration. Institutional Theory provides a way of viewing and explaining why and how institutions emerge in a certain way within a given context. The theory however is being criticized for its structural biasness, as it avoids explanations situated at individual or same level of analysis. Such gap is filled with the adoption of Structuration Theory, which also focuses on how structures - as micro-institutional foundation, arise, or are maintained through co-evolution of actions and institutions. The fusion of concepts from both theories would potentially maximise the debates on DEST in PS across diverse perspectives, and continue to keep the ‘research talking’ by revealing novel insights. KEyWoRDS Digitally Enabled, e-Government, Information System, Institutional Theory, Public Administration, Public Sector, Structuration Theory INTRoDUCTIoN Digitally Enabled Service Transformation (DEST) in public sector is attributable to the e-government phenomenon. DEST refers to the use of ICT to change an existing public service radically, in order to achieve dramatic improvement in critical contemporary measure of performance, such as cost, quality, service and speed (Omar & Weerakkody, 2016). Although many studies have been conducted to elucidate more facts and facilitate better understanding towards such context, the possibility to unveil new realities remains challenging. This claim is made based on our previous research findings (see Omar, Weerakkody & El-Haddadeh, 2014; Omar & Osmani 2015), where most of the existing studies seem to be focusing on single issues regarding technological imperatives, or managerial 1