es it is be manifulated and things as art which are actually just normally interior finished. And on that state, additionally, I think put into functional role in environmental issues, which is clean air solution technology of an Architect, and is there any other additional function?

According to my research on digital transformation in municipalities, particularly in rural regions such as South Westphalia in Germany, installation art in the public sector can be understood as both a socio-technical mediator and an institutional symbol. It plays a crucial role in how public administrations visualize, communicate, and legitimize change processes—particularly those related to digitalization.

Installation art serves as a communicative interface between technology, organization, and the environment—mirroring the core dimensions of the Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) framework (Tornatzky & Fleischer, 1990). In the technological dimension, public installations increasingly incorporate interactive and digital elements (e.g., augmented reality, sensor-based responsiveness), making abstract technological developments—such as data-driven governance or smart city applications—tangible and experiential for citizens (Graham, 2010; Townsend, 2013). Organizationally, installations can be used to express a municipality’s identity and strategic orientation toward innovation and openness. In terms of the environment, installation art often addresses broader social themes (e.g., sustainability, diversity, participation), thus creating spaces for dialogue and co-creation in public spheres (Cartiere & Zebracki, 2016).

From a neo-institutionalist perspective, installation art may be interpreted as a tool for symbolic isomorphism (DiMaggio & Powell, 1983), allowing municipalities to demonstrate responsiveness to institutional expectations such as transparency, inclusivity, and citizen engagement. This is particularly relevant for smaller or rural municipalities seeking to legitimize their transformation efforts amidst growing societal demands for modernization (Patalon & Wyczisk, 2024). Public installations can therefore be seen as part of institutional work (Lawrence & Suddaby, 2006), enacting or disrupting norms and values in the field of public administration.

Within the context of my empirical work—using qualitative focus groups to explore how public actors and citizens describe digital transformation—installation art emerges as a potential reflexive practice. It can visualize local interpretations of digitalization and act as a medium for co-developing new public narratives. As such, it aligns with recent calls to view digital transformation not only through a technological or procedural lens, but also through the cultural and symbolic dimension of institutional change (Hinings, Gegenhuber & Greenwood, 2018).

Sources:

Cartiere, C., & Zebracki, M. (Eds.). (2016). The Everyday Practice of Public Art: Art, Space, and Social Inclusion. Routledge.

DiMaggio, P. J., & Powell, W. W. (1983). The iron cage revisited: Institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields. American Sociological Review, 48(2), 147–160.

Graham, S. (2010). Cities Under Siege: The New Military Urbanism. Verso Books.

Hinings, B., Gegenhuber, T., & Greenwood, R. (2018). Digital innovation and transformation: An institutional perspective. Information and Organization, 28(1), 52–61. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.infoandorg.2018.02.004

Lawrence, T. B., & Suddaby, R. (2006). Institutions and institutional work. In Clegg, S. R., Hardy, C., Lawrence, T. B., & Nord, W. R. (Eds.), The Sage Handbook of Organization Studies (pp. 215–254). Sage Publications.

Tornatzky, L. G., & Fleischer, M. (1990). The Processes of Technological Innovation. Lexington Books.

Townsend, A. M. (2013). Smart Cities: Big Data, Civic Hackers, and the Quest for a New Utopia. W. W. Norton & Company.

Patalon & Wyczisk (2024). Mapping Digital Transformation of Municipalities through the Lens of Institutional Isomorphism. International Journal on Social and Education Sciences (IJonSES), 6(1), 51–67.