What Kind of Institutional Work Is Being Done—and by Whom—When Generative AI Is Introduced in Public Administration? A Case Study from Poland Investigating the Intra-Organisational Institutional Change.
Generative Artificial Intelligence (gen AI) is increasingly being introduced into the public sector organisations, raising critical questions about its impact on regulatory oversight and adjudication. While existing research examines AI’s influence on discretion and working conditions, relatively little is known about how it reshapes bureaucratic patterns of practice, particularly in institutions responsible for regulatory guidance and dispute resolution. AI implementation is often portrayed as enhancing efficiency and fairness in decision-making; however, it may also diminish bureaucrats’ ability to manage resources and apply informal
regulatory norms essential to policy enforcement.
This study investigates the introduction of generative AI into the Polish public procurement system, focusing on its use within the regulatory oversight body responsible for policy development and compliance guidance, as well as the adjudicative body that resolves procurement disputes. Using an ethnographic approach, the research incorporates observations, interviews, and internal document analysis to explore how AI alters regulatory work. Applying a socio technical lens, the study integrates Institutional Work Theory (IWT) and Actor-Network Theory (ANT) to examine the interplay between human agency and technology in moments of sociotechnical disruption. The preliminary findings suggest that AI does not merely enable or constrain regulatory actors but actively transforms regulatory practices by reshaping bureaucratic practices and organisational dynamics.
This study contributes to emerging debates on the governance of AI in public administration by showing how its introduction initiates distinct forms of institutional work, reshapes organisational dynamics, and reconfigures the distribution of agency among human and non-human actors.