COMMUNICATION OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT LEADERS TO CREATE A DIGITAL ORGANIZATION

Abstract

The objectives of this research were 1) To study the communication skills of local administrative organization leaders, 2) To study their communication methods, and 3) To analyze how successful local administrative organization leaders built up a digital organization. This research used the qualitative research method of in-depth interviews. The 40 key informants were selected through purposive sampling from 4 local administrative organizations that won awards for digital localities in 2021, namely, Saensuk City Municipality, Bang Mu Sub-district Administrative Organization, Patong City Municipality, and Ban Noi Sum Khilek Sub - district Administrative Organization. The results showed that a diverse range of communication skills, especially in two-way communication and building of shared understanding, were important factors that enabled local administrative organization leaders to successfully drive the transformation of their organizations to be fully digital organizations. In addition, acting as good role models in their own use of technology was an important way that the leaders could inspire people in the organization to follow their example. The research findings indicate that efficient communication methods facilitate the smooth transformation into a digital organization and make it possible for the organization to provide public services and meet the needs of the local residents more quickly. Efficient communication also promotes more public participation in decision making and builds trust in the transparency of government agencies. We can conclude that the communication of local administrative organization leaders plays a critical role in driving the transformation into digital organizations, and this transformation is beneficial for both the organization and the people it serves. Nevertheless, this research only studied award-winning local administrative organizations, so additional research should be done to understand the reasons why some other local administrative organizations were not as successful in the transformation into a digital organization, and to find solutions to their difficulties.