State-centred-collaborative-governance: A “new” governance model for ICT success

This article proposes a new concept—state-centered-collaborative-governance—that describes and explains the ICT governance model and its success in Sweden. As the role of the state lies at the center of dispute for the different governance models, this article revisits the historical government’s role in various industrial revolutions as well as tracking the role played by the Swedish government and that of other stakeholders in its ICT trajectory. By drawing attention to Sweden’s ICT success and the governance model best represents its experience, this article argues that (1) because of the nature and impact of the sector, there is no need to shun active state involvement and (2) successful ICT governance can be achieved from state-centered-collaborative governance. As the state-centered-collaborative-governance model bears resemblance with meta-governance—one of the latest governance terms that emerged in the public governance literature, the article compares these two models and discusses the shortcomings of meta-governance. In conclusion, this article proposes that the state-centered- collaborative-governance model be accepted as a “new” governance model and one governance model that can lead to the success of ICT and other sectors.