The Case of Norway and Digital Transformation over the Years

Abstract

Norway is generally characterized by a pervasive presence of digital services. It is currently undergoing a digital transformation across different domains, from daily life to public and private enterprises. In this introductory chapter, we first unpack the main drivers of digital transformation in Norway so far and its enabling conditions based on three illustrative examples: the development of Altinn, a digital platform supporting digital communication between citizens and public and private organizations; the evolution of BankID, Norway’s electronic identification system; and the current push for open data sharing leveraging experiences in the energy industry. We identify key common enabling conditions: a trust-based cooperation across social partners and across public and private sectors, the public sector’s driving role, cross-organization consolidations and consortia, and application-oriented initiatives. In the second part of the chapter, we summarize the content of the subsequent chapters in this book shedding light on different facets of digital transformation in Norway.