Coerced Transformation: Vision 2030 as an Institutional Pressure Field and the Organisational Dynamics of Imposed Digital Change in Saudi Public Sector

Abstract

Purpose: This paper examines Vision 2030's National Transformation Program as a coercive institutional pressure field that imposes digital transformation on Saudi public sector organisations regardless of their internal readiness, capacity, or willingness. Drawing on a qualitative case study of a government organisation participating in the NTP, it analyses how coercively imposed institutional pressure shapes organisational responses to digital transformation, and proposes a typology of organisational responses to coerced institutional change. Design/Methodology/Approach: An interpretive, qualitative case study was conducted using 24 semi-structured interviews with change agents and government employees. Data were analysed using grounded theory procedures following Strauss and Corbin (1990, 1994). The analysis draws on institutional theory — particularly coercive isomorphism (DiMaggio and Powell, 1983), institutional complexity (Greenwood et al., 2011), and organisational responses to institutional pressure (Oliver, 1991) — to examine how the NTP's coercive architecture shapes organisational dynamics and individual actor responses. Findings: The study identifies four organisational response modes to coerced digital transformation: compliance — surface-level conformity to NTP requirements without substantive institutional change; adaptation — selective integration of market logic practices while preserving core state logic structures; resistance — active contestation of NTP mandates through legitimate and illegitimate channels; and creative accommodation — the development of hybrid practices that satisfy external accountability demands while maintaining internal institutional coherence. The study further demonstrates that the coercive character of the NTP generates distinctive organisational dynamics — including accountability anxiety, strategic gaming, and institutional fatigue — that are not adequately theorised in existing accounts of voluntary digital transformation. Originality/Value: This paper makes three contributions. First, it extends the coercive isomorphism literature by demonstrating that coercive institutional pressure generates a more differentiated range of organisational responses than existing theory predicts. Second, it advances understanding of imposed digital transformation in non-western public sector contexts by identifying the distinctive organisational dynamics generated by coercive transformation architectures. Third, it contributes a typology of organisational responses to coerced institutional change that provides a theoretical framework for comparative research on imposed digital transformation across diverse national and cultural contexts.