KIT Career ServiceStudentsTheses

Gateway or Gatekeeper? IT Service Providers and Municipal Digital Sovereignty

Research topic/area
IT Governance in Public Administration; Digital Sovereignty
Type of thesis
Bachelor / Master
Start time
-
Application deadline
31.03.2027
Duration of the thesis
-

Description

Description
Many German municipalities turn to open-source software shared by other public bodies to depend less on large vendors. But the code alone is not enough: someone has to install, run, adapt and maintain it, and many municipalities turn to IT service providers for this.
Providers can act as a gateway, introducing municipalities to a shared solution and helping them adopt it. But they can also act as a gatekeeper: municipalities can become dependent on a supplier even when the software is open (Persson & Linåker, 2025). Some providers help develop a shared solution and at the same time sell services to the municipalities that use it.

The starting question is: What roles do IT service providers play for the digital sovereignty of German municipalities that adopt open-source software shared by other public bodies?

The thesis can trace how municipalities learned about a shared solution, who helped them decide, who runs and adapts it, and whether they could switch to another provider. You will talk to people in municipalities and companies who make these choices in practice.

Potential subtasks
  • Review research on digital sovereignty, open-source adoption in the public sector, and supplier dependence.
  • Select one or more shared open-source solutions used by several municipalities.
  • Conduct interviews with municipalities and IT service providers (around six to ten for a master's thesis, fewer for a bachelor's thesis) and analyse relevant documents, such as contracts or tender documents.
  • Reconstruct each municipality's path to the shared solution and the role of providers at each step.
  • Discuss where providers strengthen or limit municipalities' independence, and the limits of the findings.

The precise research question, case selection and methods will be developed by the student in discussion with the supervisor, taking access to suitable cases into account.

Disclaimer

The thesis is meant to teach you the scientific approach. Please keep that in mind. We expect you to learn and use scientific methods and to submit a scientifically sound result. Our role is to provide you with everything you need to succeed at that. We expect that you create a piece of work, in which you demonstrate a sound data collection method, an extensive dataset and your analysis of that dataset. A motivated student who works consistently on the thesis throughout the designated period can expect a very good grade. Details on the process and the format that we use to support you in succeeding with your thesis can be found here: https://wi2.win.kit.edu/197.php

References
  • Linåker, J., Nummelin Carlberg, A., & O'Riordan, C. (2026). Public sector open source program offices: Archetypes for how to grow (common) institutional capabilities. Journal of Systems and Software, 241, 112998. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jss.2026.112998
  • Moe, C. E., Newman, M., & Sein, M. K. (2017). The public procurement of information systems: Dialectics in requirements specification. European Journal of Information Systems, 26(2), 143–163. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41303-017-0035-4
  • Persson, P., & Linåker, J. (2025). Soft-lockins in public sector acquisitions of open source software-solutions: A case study on a municipal e-service platform. Proceedings of the 58th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences. https://doi.org/10.24251/HICSS.2025.238
  • Pohle, J., Nanni, R., & Santaniello, M. (2024). Unthinking digital sovereignty: A critical reflection on origins, objectives, and practices. Policy & Internet, 16(4), 666–671. https://doi.org/10.1002/poi3.437
  • Shaikh, M. (2016). Negotiating open source software adoption in the UK public sector. Government Information Quarterly, 33(1), 115–132. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2015.11.001


Requirement

Requirements for students
  • - Solid understanding of or at least interest in qualitative research methods, especially interviews and document analysis.
  • - Willingness to familiarize yourself with literature on digital sovereignty, open-source adoption and supplier dependence.
  • - Communication skills for contacting municipalities and IT service providers and conducting interviews with them.
  • - Fluent German, as interviews and documents are in German. The thesis will be written in English.

Faculty departments
  • Economic & law sciences
    Information Engineering


Supervision

Title, first name, last name
Paulina Kowalska
Organizational unit
WIN - ESIS
Email address
paulina.kowalska@kit.edu
Link to personal homepage/personal page
Website

Application via email

Application documents
  • Cover letter
  • Curriculum vitae
  • Grade transcript

E-Mail Address for application
Senden Sie die oben genannten Bewerbungsunterlagen bitte per Mail an paulina.kowalska@kit.edu


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